Antecedents enabling team ambidexterity: moving beyond mere microfoundation

PurposeAmbidexterity in teams represents powerful dynamic capabilities for innovation and adaptation in rapidly changing environments. This study focused on the emerging concept of team ambidexterity. Primary purposes were to consolidate emerging research on ambidexterity within teams and to synthesise antecedent inputs.Design/methodology/approachThis study applied a systematic content-based review method to collect articles relevant to enabling ambidexterity within teams. The study integrated relevant studies on ambidexterity and on teams and teamwork. It analysed content through theoretical frameworks of ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities.FindingsTeam ambidexterity constitutes a distinct and increasingly important organisational concept beyond just supporting firm-level ambidexterity. Team ambidexterity depends on inputs that can include ambidexterity's multilevel, generic mechanisms and additional team-centric inputs specially characterising teams.Practical implicationsOrganisational leaders need insights into the valuable potential of ambidextrous teams that can increase innovation and enable successful adaptation at an operational level for longterm survival and competitive advantage in volatile environments. The study highlights the essential inputs for designing and equipping ambidextrous teams.Originality/valueTeam ambidexterity research is growing, but so far it has mostly addressed team ambidexterity as a microfoundation supporting firm-level ambidexterity. Existing studies have remained mostly disparate and unorganized. This study appears unique in having identified and synthesised studies most relevant to developing ambidexterity within teams. The study articulated a more comprehensive understanding of team ambidexterity, derived a novel set of team-centric inputs and analysed ambidexterity as dynamic capabilities at operational unit level.

Preserving the reference strains.

It is critical that storage of the living reference strains, on which the names and properties are based and the DNA sequenced to assign a name (the reference genetic resources), are preserved optimally to retain stability. The fact that less than 1% of microbial diversity can be grown sets enormous challenges for repositories (microbial domain biological resource centres or mBRCs). It is most often the case that it is an axenic culture of the reference genetic resource that is preserved but, for those organisms that cannot be grown or where molecular techniques are used to identify the organism, DNA should be stored. This task increases further when the microbiome is being studied, and environmental samples from whole communities are examined; mBRCs need to address how these can be preserved too. This chapter focuses on property retention, selecting the appropriate techniques for longterm survival and stability of characters. It covers the operations of mBRCs and the most appropriate technologies and mechanisms for stability testing and quality assurance. It addresses the preservation of microbial strains of the wide range of archaeal, bacterial (including cyanobacterial), yeast and fungal type and reference strains.

CHARACTERISATION OF AN ANTARCTIC YEAST, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12

Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 is a psychrophilic yeast isolated from Antarctica. It has an optimal growth in yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) and yeast mould (YM) broth media but not in potato dextrose (PD) broth medium. Early phase G. antarctica PI12 cells had elongated-shape and became oval-shaped as they aged. G. antarctica PI12 exhibited bipolar budding and formed a chain of cells during the lag and early exponential phases. The number of chains decreased as the yeast aged. It appeared mainly as a single cell at the stationary phase, and a small number of them still produced buds. Some cells at the stationary phase entered the quiescence state (G0) as a longterm survival strategy. The G. antarctica PI12 cell size decreased when they entered the stationary phase. G. antarctica PI12 was found to produce hydrolytic enzymes, chitinase, cellulase, mannanase, and xylanase. A higher glucose concentration of 2% in the PD agar medium inhibited the activities of chitinase but not the cellulase, mananase and xylanase.

Indigenous knowledge and local practices concerning the endemic plant Ipomoea beninensis Akoègn., Lisowski & Sinsin (Convolvulaceae): an initial assessment for its conservation in Benin

Ipomoea beninensis Akoègn., Lisowski & Sinsin (Convolvulaceae) is the only endemic plant known for Benin. To date, no data exist on its usages, distribution, abundance, and threats. An improved understanding of indigenous knowledge and of local practices can provide insight into how the species could be sustainably conserved. We interviewed 114 local residents for collecting ethnobotanical and ethnoecological data in six sites known to host the species. Data were processed by calculation of descriptive statistics and variance and multivariate analyses. A total of twelve uses were reported. Among them, treatment of varicella (19%), malaria (18%) and fodder (17%) were the most recurrent. These mainly involve use of the species rootstock. Almost all respondents mentioned decline of the species in natural habitats. None of them was aware about the endemic status of the species. Consequently, negative practices toward the protection of I. beninensis were prevalent among local residents. Several conservation measures are proposed to ensure the longterm survival of I. beninensis.

Therapeutic strategy for tracheal chondrosarcoma: report of two cases

Primary chondrosarcoma of the trachea is an extremely rare tumor. We report two cases of tracheal chondrosarcoma describing the role of surgical and conservative treatment. Endoscopic treatment with rigid bronchoscopy was performed in both patients to restore airway patency and obtain histological specimens for diagnosis. One of the patients subsequently underwent successful tracheal resection and reconstruction. The other patient, who had a contraindication to surgical treatment due to associated diseases underwent iterative endoscopic LASER treatment and is alive three years after the first diagnosis. Surgical treatment remains the treatment of choice of tracheal chondrosarcoma. When surgery is contraindicated endoscopic treatment may allow relatively longterm survival due to the slow growth of these tumors.

Ethnic Variations in Systemic Sclerosis Disease Manifestations, Internal Organ Involvement, and Mortality

Objective.A multiethnic systemic sclerosis (SSc) cohort study to evaluate ethnic variations in disease manifestations, internal organ involvement, and survival.Methods.Adults who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism classification criteria for SSc between 1970 and 2017 were included. Self-reported ethnicity was categorized as European-descent white, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic, Arab, East Asian, South Asian, First Nations, or Persian. The primary outcome was the time from diagnosis to death from all causes. Survival probabilities and median survival times were determined using Kaplan-Meier survival curves.Results.There were 1005 subjects evaluated, the majority of whom were European-descent white (n = 745, 74%), Afro-Caribbean (n = 58, 6%), South Asian (n = 70, 7%), and East Asian (n = 80, 8%). Compared to European-descent white subjects, East Asians less frequently had calcinosis (29% vs 9%, p = 0.002) and esophageal dysmotility (88% vs 69%, p = 0.002); Afro-Caribbeans more frequently had interstitial lung disease (31% vs 53%, p = 0.007); and First Nations subjects more frequently had diffuse cutaneous disease (35% vs 56%, p = 0.02) and diabetes (5% vs 33%, p = 0.03). We found no difference in the short-term survival across ethnicities. Hispanic subjects have better longterm survival (81.3%, 95% CI 63–100) compared to European-descent white subjects (55%, 95% CI 51–60). East Asians appear to have the longest median survival time (43.3 yrs) and Arabs the shortest median survival time (15 yrs). There was no significant difference in median survival times between Afro-Caribbean and European-descent white subjects (22.2 vs 22.6 yrs).Conclusion.Ethnic variations in some SSc disease manifestations are observed. However, this does not result in significant differences in short-term survival but may affect longterm survival.