Texas Christian University

About: Texas Christian University is a education organization based out in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 3245 authors who have published 8258 publications receiving 282216 citations. The organization is also known as: TCU & Texas Christian University, TCU.

Comparison between protein-polyethylene glycol (PEG) interactions and the effect of PEG on protein-protein interactions using the liquid-liquid phase transition.

Abstract: Phase transitions of protein aqueous solutions are important for protein crystallization and biomaterials science in general. One source of thermodynamic complexity in protein solutions and their phase transitions is the required presence of additives such as polyethylene glycol (PEG). To investigate the effects of PEG on the thermodynamic behavior of protein solutions, we report measurements on the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of aqueous bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the presence of relatively small amounts of PEG with an average molecular weight of 1450 g/mol (PEG1450) as a model system. We experimentally characterize two thermodynamically independent properties of the phase boundary: (1) the effect of PEG1450 concentration on the LLPS temperature, (2) BSA/PEG1450 partitioning in the two liquid coexisting phases. We then use a thermodynamic perturbation theory to relate the first property to the effect of PEG concentration on protein-protein interactions and the second property to protein-PEG interactions. As criteria to determine the accuracy of a microscopic model, we examine the model's ability to describe both experimental thermodynamic properties. We believe that the parallel examination of these two properties is a valuable tool for verifying the validity of existing models and for developing more accurate ones. For our system, we have found that a depletion-interaction model satisfactorily explains both protein-PEG interactions and the effect of PEG concentration on protein-protein interactions. Finally, due to the general importance of LLPS, we will experimentally show that protein-PEG-buffer mixtures can exhibit two distinct types of liquid-liquid phase transitions.

Social Dollars in Online Communities: The Effect of Product, User, and Network Characteristics

Abstract: Online communities have experienced burgeoning popularity over the last decade and have become a key platform for users to share information and interests, and to engage in social interactions. Drawing on the social contagion literature, the authors examine the effect of online social connections on users’ product purchases in an online community. They assess how product, user, and network characteristics influence the social contagion effect in users’ spending behavior. The authors use a unique large-scale data set from a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game community—consisting of users’ detailed gaming activities, their social connections, and their in-game purchases of functional and hedonic products—to examine the impact of gamers’ social networks on their purchase behavior. The analysis, based on a double-hurdle model that captures gamers’ decisions of playing and spending levels, reveals evidence of “social dollars,” whereby social interaction between gamers in the communi...

Why Do Salespeople Quit? An Empirical Examination of Own and Peer Effects on Salesperson Turnover Behavior

Abstract: Salesperson turnover can have a negative overall effect on a firm. Research on salesperson turnover has conceptually studied the consequences of voluntary turnover on a firm. However, little empirical research has investigated the antecedents of salesperson turnover—specifically, the role of own effects (relative performance, customer satisfaction, and goal realization) and peer effects (peer performance variance and turnover). Therefore, the authors propose a framework to assess the influence of own factors (through identity theory) and of peer factors (through social identity theory) on salesperson turnover. Using a proportional hazard model implemented on data consisting of 6,727 salespeople over two years, the results suggest that in addition to own behaviors, managers need to pay attention to peer behaviors because peer turnover (voluntary and involuntary) greatly increases a salesperson’s turnover probability. Furthermore, the results indicate that peer effects have a greater impact than own...

Leader perceptions and motivation as outcomes of followership role orientation and behavior

Abstract: Followership research posits that followers differ in the way they define and enact the followership role, which can have varying effects in relation to how leaders experience their own roles and responsibilities. Drawing from the role orientation literature and newly emerging research on followership, our study examines the indirect effects of followers’ co-production (co-producing leadership outcomes) and passive (deferring to leadership influence) role orientations on leader-rated outcomes of perceived follower support, leader motivation, and follower contribution to goal attainment via followers’ voice and upward delegation behaviors. Using data from 306 dyads in a Chinese organization, our results show that follower voice and upward delegation mediate the relationships linking followers’ co-production and passive role orientations with leader-rated outcomes. Our study provides evidence that followership role orientations and behaviors differentially influence leader perceptions regarding their follow...