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The dynamics and comfort of a vehicle closely depends on the stiffness of its suspension system. The suspension system of a vehicle always had to trade-off between comfort and performance of a vehicle; since for comfort a softer suspension is preferred which in turn decreases the aerodynamics and cornering performance and increases the ride height of the vehicle; whereas in stiffer suspension the ride height can be lowered, but forces due to bumps are transferred all the way up to the drivers cabin. This article aims to design a vehicle suspension model with variable stiffness using quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) mechanism and study its force-displacement characteristics and minimize the fundamental stiffness of the suspension system. The model developed uses the principle of negative stiffness to achieve low stiffness for the softer suspension system. The mechanism designed comprises of a pushrod suspension system with three parallel springs attached to one end of the rocker arm, one primary coil spring is mounted perpendicular to the rocker arm and the other two secondary plate springs are attached to the primary coil spring. In parallel, stiffness of all the three springs are added, giving stiffer suspension when required at low ride heights and higher cornering performance. For decreasing the stiffness, an actuator is used to position the secondary springs such that negative stiffness is produced, decreasing the stiffness of the system. The geometry stated above is modelled in Catia and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink. Graphs of force vs. displacement and stiffness vs. displacement are studied for both the conditions. A comparative study of conventional suspension and modelled suspension system is done.

Horizontal gene transfer is one of the main mechanisms by which bacteria acquire new genes. However, it represents only the first step as the transferred genes have also to be functionally and regulatory integrated into the recipient’s cellular machinery. Gemmatimonas phototrophica , a member of bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadota, acquired its photosynthesis genes via distant horizontal gene transfer from a purple bacterium. Thus, it represents a unique natural experiment, in which the entire package of photosynthesis genes was transplanted into a distant host. We show that G. phototrophica lacks the regulation of photosynthesis gene expressions in response to oxygen concentration and light intensity that are common in purple bacteria. This restricts its growth to low-light habitats with reduced oxygen. Understanding the regulation of horizontally transferred genes is important not only for microbial evolution but also for synthetic biology and the engineering of novel organisms, as these rely on the successful integration of foreign genes.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is twofold: first, to examine the relationship between foreign ownership and stock return volatility and second, to explore how COVID-19 impacts such a relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis empirical research is based on the non-financial firms of the BSE-100 index over the 2013–2022 period. The ordinary least squares, fixed effects and system GMM (Generalized method of moment) techniques are used to analyze the effect of oversea investors on stock return volatility.FindingsResults indicate an inverse association between foreign ownership and stock return volatility. The outcomes of the pre-and during-COVID-19 period show a negative but insignificant relationship between foreign ownership and stock return volatility. These results reflect foreign investors sold their stocks pessimistically, which badly affected the Indian stock market.Originality/valueThis study enriches the previous literature by exploring the impact of foreign investors on the stock return volatility of Indian firms. To date, no study has captured the impact of foreign ownership on stock return volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0179

Purpose The growing trend in environmental, social and governance (ESG) research, along with its relevance to the financial performance of firms, has gained a lot of attraction in academia and industry. This study aims to fill the existing gap in the literature by conducting a thorough systematic review with the latest research articles in this area. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a blend of systematic literature review and bibliometric techniques. A proper search string was used to retrieve the data from the Scopus database. The final dataset comprises 296 documents used for science mapping, and the review was done of 60 articles finalised after further refining the documents. Findings The results of this study indicate that stakeholder, legitimacy and signalling theories are the foundation for ESG and financial performance. Social firms have a lower capital cost because of their low-risk potential. Moreover, this study provides the knowledge structure by framing four clusters, “CSR/ESG determinants and firm performance”, “Moderators and Mediators”, “Investors’ perception” and “CSR in the tourism sector”. Originality/value This study has reviewed the literature with both tools, that is, qualitative (systematic review) and quantitative (bibliometric). Moreover, this study presents the latest synthesis of the literature.

The bacterium Gemmatimonas phototrophica AP64 isolated from a freshwater lake in the western Gobi Desert represents the first phototrophic member of the bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadota. This strain was originally cultured on agar plates because it did not grow in liquid medium. In contrast, the closely related species G. groenlandica TET16 grows both on solid and in liquid media. Here, we show that the growth of G. phototrophica in liquid medium can be induced by supplementing the medium with 20 mg CaCl2 L−1. When grown at a lower concentration of calcium (2 mg CaCl2 L−1) in the liquid medium, the growth was significantly delayed, cells were elongated and lacked flagella. The elevated requirement for calcium is relatively specific as it can be partially substituted by strontium, but not by magnesium. The transcriptome analysis documented that several groups of genes involved in flagella biosynthesis and transport of transition metals were co-activated after amendment of 20 mg CaCl2 L−1 to the medium. The presented results document that G. phototrophica requires a higher concentration of calcium for its metabolism and growth compared to other Gemmatimonas species.

Purpose This study aims to provide an overview of the development of corporate governance and ownership structure literature and offers a synopsis of the top contributors, influential articles, journals and potential research prospects on this subject. Design/methodology/approach This study used bibliometric analysis to review the literature. In all, 1,368 articles published between 1992 and 2022 in Scopus-indexed journals were considered. Findings This review reveals the top leading authors, institutions, countries and sources in the ownership structure research. Using bibliographic coupling, this study fetches four significant clusters. The theme of the first cluster revolved around cash holding. The second and third groups revealed how distinct characteristics of ownership impact the performance of the firm and disclosure decisions, respectively. The last and fourth cluster deals with risk-taking activities in financial institutions. Furthermore, this study suggests a road map in each cluster for future research. Originality/value Ownership structure plays a significant role in corporate governance by affecting manager incentives and determining the extent of monitoring. Previous studies have contributed to this field while focusing on the board of directors. However, no study synthesises the literature on ownership structure within corporate governance, which is the core element of the corporate governance system. Hence, this study gives a comprehensive overview and determines the latest and prominent research in ownership structure within corporate governance through bibliometric analysis.

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a dramatic downturn in the global stock markets. Investors look for safe stocks that can provide better risk-adjusted returns. Stocks with higher Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) scores can be good choices for investors. This study focuses on this argument by examining the relationship between ESG indicators and stock returns while considering financial and macroeconomic variables.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 39 non-financial firms listed in Nifty-50, for which data is available, have been included. Panel data from 2018 to 2021 is collected to examine this relationship in the presence of COVID-19. Additionally, the panel regression method is used.FindingsThe empirical findings indicate a positive relationship between ESG scores and stock returns. This relationship holds even when the control variables like Return on Assets (ROA), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Return on Equity (ROE), age, size, leverage of the firm, inflation, and crisis period are used in the model.Originality/valueThis study contributes by examining the linkage between ESG indicators and stock return while controlling the impact of the financial and macroeconomic variables in Indian markets, which has not been undertaken so far. Moreover, this is the first study to use the ESG score data of S&P Global, which gives more weight to the material factors of a firm.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2023-0819.

Strain MS-P2T was isolated from microbial mats associated with Mushroom Spring, an alkaline siliceous hot spring in Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA. The isolate grows chemoheterotrophically by oxygen-dependent respiration, and light stimulates photoheterotrophic growth under strictly oxic conditions. Strain MS-P2T synthesizes bacteriochlorophyll a and the carotenoid spirilloxanthin. However, photoautotrophic growth did not occur under oxic or anoxic conditions, suggesting that this strain should be classified as an aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium. Strain MS-P2T cells are motile, curved rods about 0.5 to 1.0 μm wide and 1.0 to 1.5 μm long. The optimum growth temperature is 45–50 °C, and the optimum pH for growth is circum-neutral (pH 7.0–7.5). Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that strain MS-P2T is closely related to Elioraea species, members of the class Alphaproteobacteria, with a sequence identity of 96.58 to 98%. The genome of strain MS-P2T is a single circular DNA molecule of 3,367,643 bp with a mol% guanine-plus-cytosine content of 70.6%. Based on phylogenetic, physiological, biochemical, and genomic characteristics, we propose this bacteriochlorophyll a-containing isolate is a new species belonging to the genus Elioraea, with the suggested name Elioraeatepida. The type-strain is strain MS-P2T (= JCM33060T = ATCC TSD-174T).

Purpose This study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis to provide a comprehensive picture and identify future research directions to enrich the existing literature on behavioral biases. Design/methodology/approach The data set comprises 518 articles from the Web of Science database. Performance analysis is used to highlight the significant contributors (authors, institutions, countries and journals) and contributions (highly influential articles) in the field of behavioral biases. In addition, network analysis is used to delve into the conceptual and social structure of the research domain. Findings The current review has identified four major themes: “Influence of behavioral biases on investment decisions,” “Determinants of home bias,” “Impact of biases on stock market variables” and “Investors’ decision-making under uncertainty.” These themes reveal that a majority of studies have focused on equity markets, and research on other asset classes remains underexplored. Research limitations/implications This study extracted data from a single database (Web of Science) to ensure standardization of results. Consequently, future research could broaden the scope of the bibliometric review by incorporating multiple databases. Originality/value The novelty of this research is to provide valuable guidance by evaluating the existing literature and advancing the knowledge base on the conceptual and social structure of behavioral biases.

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of institutional investors and their classes on the stock return volatility of an emerging market. The paper also determines the moderating role of firm size, crisis and turnover on such relationships. Design/methodology/approach The study covers nonfinancial companies of the Bombay Stock Exchange-100 index that are listed during the study period. The study uses fixed effects and systematic generalized method of moments estimators to look over the association between institutional investors and firms’ stock return volatility. Findings The study provides evidence that institutional investors destabilize the Indian stock market. It indicates that institutional investors do not engage in management activities; they earn short-term gains depending on information efficiency. Pressure-insensitive institutional investors have a significant positive relation with stock return volatility, while pressure-sensitive institutional investors do not. The study also reflects that pressure-sensitive institutional investors are underweighted in India, which jointly represents an insignificant nonlinear association between institutional ownership and stocks’ volatility. Furthermore, outcomes reveal that the intersection effect of the crisis, firm size and turnover is positively and significantly related to such relationships. Research limitations/implications The outcomes encourage initiatives that keep track of institutional investors in the Indian stock market. To control the destabilizing effect of pressure-insensitive institutional investors, regulators should follow strict regulations on their trading patterns. Moreover, it guides the potential researchers that they should also take into account the impact of other classes of ownership structure or what type of ownership can help in stabilizing or destabilizing the Indian stock market. Originality/value Abundant literature studies the relationship between institutional ownership and firm performance in the Indian context. From the standpoint of making management decisions, the return and volatility of stock returns are both different aspects. However, this study examines the effect of institutional ownership and its groups on the volatility of stock return using the panel data estimator, which was previously not discussed in the literature.