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Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion of the way that teams and leaders interact over the life cycle stages of a project and how trust and confidence plays a vital part in this intimate relationship. Key issues relevant to this discussion are the nature of projects, the nature of trust and commitment and leadership style.Design methodology approach - A case study was undertaken of an information and communication technology project delivered by an information technology (IT) company to a Hong Kong public sector organisation. The study extended over the whole of the project and data was gathered on how the leadership styles of individuals in \"leader\" positions of a project affected project management process success and failure from a critical historical event perspective. The study was considered over four stages: project initiation and design; development; testing and cut over; and finally project acceptance.Findings - This paper highlights personnel changes in the leadership team. Issues relating to the leadership team of the public sector organisation and IT company are then explored, analysed and discussed. The source and use of power from the perspective of project delivery team leaders and the public sector organisation are explored to analyse how the adopted leadership style influenced the degree of trust and commitment exhibited by participants at each stage. Results suggest that team members should be considered as key project stakeholders and building their trust and confidence in the project leadership group is vital.Practical implications - The paper explores cultural national issues that affect leadership style that are particularly relevant in a Confucian cultural context. While findings from one study cannot be more generally applied they do help to build our understanding of processes at work and what critical incidents influence the way that these unfold - in this case, the way that leadership style affected the organisational form for example.Originality value - Each case study is unique. This study provides particularly rich insights into the project and its characteristics across each stage of the project and so it contributes to the body of casework that helps explain the implications of how history, culture and context shapes the emergence of a particular leadership and followership style.

In a chemical genetics screen we identified the small-molecule [5-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)furan-2-yl]-piperidine-1-ylmethanethione (DFPM) that triggers rapid inhibition of early abscisic acid signal transduction via PHYTOALEXIN DEFICIENT4 (PAD4)-and ENHANCED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY1 (EDSI)-dependent immune signaling mechanisms. However, mechanisms upstream of EDS1 and PAD4 in DFPM-mediated signaling remain unknown. Here, we report that DFPM generates an Arabidopsis thaliana accession-specific root growth arrest in Columbia-0 (Col-0) plants. The genetic locus responsible for this natural variant, VICTR (VARIATION IN COMPOUND TRIGGERED ROOT growth response), encodes a TIR-NB-LRR (for Toll-Interleukin1 Receptornucleotide binding-Leucine-rich repeat) protein. Analyses of T-DNA insertion victr alleles showed that VICTR is necessary for DFPM-induced root growth arrest and inhibition of abscisic acid-induced stomatal closing. Transgenic expression of the Col-0 VICTR allele in DFPM-insensitive Arabidopsis accessions recapitulated the DFPM-induced root growth arrest. EDS1 and PAD4, both central regulators of basal resistance and effector-triggered immunity, as well as HSP90 chaperones and their cochaperones RAR1 and SGT1B, are required for the DFPM-induced root growth arrest. Salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathway components are dispensable. We further demonstrate that VICTR associates with EDS1 and PAD4 in a nuclear protein complex. These findings show a previously unexplored association between a TIR-NB-LRR protein and PAD4 and identify functions of plant immune signaling components in the regulation of root meristematic zone-targeted growth arrest.

In a place teeming with pathogens, maintaining a defense mechanism against pathogen attacks is critical for survival especially when other stress factors such as drought can also endanger plant life, a staple of our agriculture. The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates major abiotic stress responses, while the hormones salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) all participate in plant defense against pathogen invasions. Previous research has provided evidence for the antagonistic relationship between ABA signaling and pathogen resistance. To determine the range at which ABA signaling affects plant defense signaling, stomatal responses of pathogenic mutants were examined under treatments of ABA and C23, a synthetic chemical that inhibits ABA signaling and induces expression of defense genes. Results reveal that the convergence points between ABA and defense signaling occur upstream of SA synthesis and signaling. To identify a new mutant that is interconnected between the two pathways, mutant screening and genetic cloning of N277 is performed, a mutant line shown to exhibit insensitivity to ABA and to the C23 pathogen-induced inhibition of ABA signaling. This study aims to understand the mechanism at which ABA signaling interacts with pathogen defense signaling to enhance plant protection from pathogen invasions without decreasing crop yield.

Transition from high school to higher education brings many changes to students in their academic and social life. Institutions are keen to provide support and services to help students make a smooth transition to college in the hope of helping them to be successful in their education career. This thesis aims to investigate what the first-year students in two associate degree (AD) programmes in a university in Hong Kong expected from college education, what sorts of changes and problems they had encountered in the first year of college and how they perceived academic success. Evidence came primarily from a questionnaire survey of three hundred students, and twenty-four face-to-face individual interviews. The findings of the study reveal that many first-year students in the two AD programmes were not sufficiently prepared for college study. Some failed to integrate into the wider context of a new environment to reap the full benefits of tertiary education, while some failed to make sufficient changes in their learning approach to suit the new academic demands. College to them seemed to be an extension of secondary education preparing them for a full degree programme. On a positive note, the sample in this study agreed that they received more exposure to active learning, such as participating in project work and working in groups. They also began to note the importance of developing themselves in a more holistic manner and the need for developing transferable skills. Raising students’ awareness of the differences between school and college prior to their arrival at college is considered to be an important endeavor to facilitate a smooth transition. Institutions’ support for student adaptation should include not only early orientation programmes but also ongoing activities. A key to successful transition is to promote students’ academic and social integration through policies such as outcome-based curriculums, learning communities and compulsory residence. Students should also be encouraged to undertake regular self-reflection on their learning so as to remain aware of where they are and what to do next.

Purpose: Nicks in the propeller can lead to catastrophic failures if not repaired properly, but proper detection can be difficult. To improve nick inspection tasks, the researchers intend to develop a nick detection model using the object detection algorithm, You Only Look Once. Design/Methodology/Approach: The researchers select YOLOv8 algorithm. To develop a nick detection model, the researchers collected 4423 nick images in various conditional variable settings. Using preprocessed 1800 nick images, six models are trained with different hyperparameter settings and assessed for performance. Findings: A well‐trained model achieved 0.986 precision, 0.982 recall, and 0.984 F 1 score. Additionally, the researchers assessed explainability analysis using Grad‐cam to see if this model properly extracts nick features during the training process. Originality/Value: This research contributes to improving inspectors’ propeller nick inspection maturity using this nick detection model. Therefore, this study can potentially reduce general aviation accidents caused by propeller failure.

In this trial, overweight and obese adolescents were assigned to a 1-year intervention to decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages or not; there was 1 year of additional follow-up without intervention. BMI increased less in the intervention group at 1 year but not at 2 years. The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among adolescents 1 has increased in tandem with the prevalence of pediatric obesity in the United States, 2 suggesting a causal relationship. At present, a substantial proportion of high-school students habitually consume sugar-sweetened beverages, including carbonated soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and highly sweetened coffees and teas. 3 Sugar-sweetened beverages are the leading source of added sugar in the diet of a wide range of racial and ethnic groups. 4 According to nationally representative data, overweight and obese adolescents obtain more than 300 kcal per day from these products, amounting to an average of 15% of their total daily . . .

Missense mutations in the p53 DNA-binding domain (DBD) contribute to half of new cancer cases annually. Here we present a thermodynamic model that quantifies and links the major pathways by which mutations inactivate p53. We find that DBD possesses two unusual properties—one of the highest zinc affinities of any eukaryotic protein and extreme instability in the absence of zinc—which are predicted to poise p53 on the cusp of folding/unfolding in the cell, with a major determinant being available zinc concentration. We analyze the 20 most common tumorigenic p53 mutations and find that 80% impair zinc affinity, thermodynamic stability, or both. Biophysical, cell-based, and murine xenograft experiments demonstrate that a synthetic zinc metallochaperone rescues not only mutations that decrease zinc affinity, but also mutations that destabilize DBD without impairing zinc binding. The results suggest that zinc metallochaperones have the capability to treat 120,500 patients annually in the U.S.

In this study we explore the seasonal variability of the mean winds and diurnal and semidiurnal tidal amplitude and phases, as well as the Reynolds stress components during 2019, utilizing meteor radars at six Southern Hemisphere locations ranging from midlatitudes to polar latitudes. These include Tierra del Fuego, King Edward Point on South Georgia island, King Sejong Station, Rothera, Davis, and McMurdo stations. The year 2019 was exceptional in the Southern Hemisphere, due to the occurrence of a rare minor stratospheric warming in September. Our results show a substantial longitudinal and latitudinal seasonal variability of mean winds and tides, pointing towards a wobbling and asymmetric polar vortex. Furthermore, the derived momentum fluxes and wind variances, utilizing a recently developed algorithm, reveal a characteristic seasonal pattern at each location included in this study. The longitudinal and latitudinal variability of vertical flux of zonal and meridional momentum is discussed in the context of polar vortex asymmetry, spatial and temporal variability, and the longitude and latitude dependence of the vertical propagation conditions of gravity waves. The horizontal momentum fluxes exhibit a rather consistent seasonal structure between the stations, while the wind variances indicate a clear seasonal behavior and altitude dependence, showing the largest values at higher altitudes during the hemispheric winter and two variance minima during the equinoxes. Also the hemispheric summer mesopause and the zonal wind reversal can be identified in the wind variances.

Iron is essential for both plant growth and human health and nutrition. Knowledge of the signaling mechanisms that communicate iron demand from shoots to roots to regulate iron uptake as well as the transport systems mediating iron partitioning into edible plant tissues is critical for the development of crop biofortification strategies. Here, we report that OPT3, previously classified as an oligopeptide transporter, is a plasma membrane transporter capable of transporting transition ions in vitro. Studies in Arabidopsis thaliana show that OPT3 loads iron into the phloem, facilitates iron recirculation from the xylem to the phloem, and regulates both shoot-to-root iron signaling and iron redistribution from mature to developing tissues. We also uncovered an aspect of crosstalk between iron homeostasis and cadmium partitioning that is mediated by OPT3. Together, these discoveries provide promising avenues for targeted strategies directed at increasing iron while decreasing cadmium density in the edible portions of crops and improving agricultural productivity in iron deficient soils.

Overwintering success is an important determinant of arthropod populations that must be considered as climate change continues to influence the spatiotemporal population dynamics of agricultural pests. Using a long-term monitoring database and biologically relevant overwintering zones, we modeled the annual and seasonal population dynamics of a common pest, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), based on three overwintering suitability zones throughout North America using four decades of soil temperatures: the southern range (able to persist through winter), transitional zone (uncertain overwintering survivorship), and northern limits (unable to survive winter). Our model indicates H. zea population dynamics are hierarchically structured with continental-level effects that are partitioned into three geographic zones. Seasonal populations were initially detected in the southern range, where they experienced multiple large population peaks. All three zones experienced a final peak between late July (southern range) and mid-August to mid-September (transitional zone and northern limits). The southern range expanded by 3% since 1981 and is projected to increase by twofold by 2099 but the areas of other zones are expected to decrease in the future. These changes suggest larger populations may persist at higher latitudes in the future due to reduced low-temperature lethal events during winter. Because H. zea is a highly migratory pest, predicting when populations accumulate in one region can inform synchronous or lagged population development in other regions. We show the value of combining long-term datasets, remotely sensed data, and laboratory findings to inform forecasting of insect pests.