Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Operations strategy and business strategy alignment model (case of Iranian industries)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper here is to present an operational model that establishes the necessary relationship between business strategy and operations strategy. Accordingly, managers are enabled to define strategic business elements in the operations unit and align it with the business strategies.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 160 companies using a combination of structured interviews and closed questionnaire. In developing the alignment model, descriptive‐survey and correlation methods were used. For selecting the codes and types of alignments, a heuristic data analysis method was developed and applied.Findings – This paper concludes that alignment is significantly different in successful and unsuccessful companies. Considering their performance, 25 alignment types have been identified out of which seven types have been found appropriate for the case.Practical implications – The recommended model here is easy to use and helps managers to improve the performance of their .
Women feel more pessimistic than men: Empirical evidence from Turkish consumer confidence index

Abstract The leading role that is attributable to economic indicators like consumer confidence has been well documented in the literature for many developed nations. Moreover, the relationship between high frequency financial market data has been a common research topic for world economies. However, there is hardly any study that attempts to search for the possible functional relationship between consumer confidence and financial market variables. This paper is a simple attempt to link these two brands of literature by focusing on the relationship between financial market variables and consumer confidence index before the global crisis has started. We have two distinctive points. First, we derive separate consumer confidence indices for men and women by employing micro‐level consumer confidence data from an emerging market (Turkish CNBC‐e consumer confidence index) for the period of January 2003 ‐ January 2008. Second, employing this data set, we do not only check for the existence of a relationship betwe.
Integration of multiple signal transducing pathways on Fgf response elements of the Xenopus caudal homologue Xcad3

Early neural patterning along the anteroposterior (AP) axis appears to involve a number of signal transducing pathways, but the precise role of each of these pathways for AP patterning and how they are integrated with signals that govern neural induction step is not well understood. We investigate the nature of Fgf response element (FRE) in a posterior neural gene, Xcad3 (Xenopus caudal homologue) that plays a crucial role of posterior neural development. We provide evidence that FREs of Xcad3 are widely dispersed in its intronic sequence and that these multiple FREs comprise Ets-binding and Tcf/Lef-binding motifs that lie in juxtaposition. Functional and physical analyses indicate that signaling pathways of Fgf, Bmp and Wnt are integrated on these FREs to regulate the expression of Xcad3 in the posterior neural tube through positively acting Ets and Sox family transcription factors and negatively acting Tcf family transcription factor(s).
Contracting in a Supply Chain with Stochastic Demand and Substitute Products

Retailers often stock competing products from multiple manufacturers. When the retailer stocks out of a particular item, customers who prefer the item are likely, with some probability, to switch to a substitute product from another manufacturer at the same store. In such an event, a “lost sale” for the manufacturer is not a “lost sale” for the retailer. This exacerbates differences in manufacturer's and retailer's stockout costs for the item. Such differences in stockout cost influence the optimal contract between the manufacturer and the retailer and also impose agency costs on the channel. Such contracts, in turn, determine equilibrium inventory levels and fill rates. We study these issues in a single‐period supply chain, consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer, under three different scenarios (when the two firms are integrated into a single entity, when the retailer makes stocking decisions, and when the manufacturer makes stocking decisions). We compare, and present a methodology for comparing, stocking quantities, manufacturer efforts, and supply chain profits across different scenarios. We find that VMI performs better when manufacturer effort is a substantial driver of consumer demand and when consumers are unlikely to substitute to another brand in case of a stockout. On the other hand, if non‐contractible manufacturer effort is unimportant, or when substitution is significant, VMI can exacerbate, rather than mitigate, channel inefficiencies, and can perform worse than traditional Retailer Managed Inventory.
Differential proteome analysis of conditioned media to detect Smad4 regulated secreted biomarkers in colon cancer

Smad4 is a tumor suppressor gene primarily involved in carcinogenesis of the pancreas and colon. The functional inactivation of Smad4 is a late step genetically. In pancreatic carcinogenesis, loss of Smad4 marks the transition to invasive growth. In colorectal cancers, the frequency of Smad4 inactivation is markedly increased in metastatic cancers. We have established cell biological models, re‐expressing Smad4 in deficient human cancer cells, in which we could show that Smad4 is adequate to suppress tumor growth through suppression of angiogenic and invasive properties. Thus, pairs of Smad4‐re‐expressing and Smad4‐deficient cells are prone to model the progression from premalignant stages to carcinomas in the carcinogenic process and may provide access to Smad4 targets of high clinical relevance. We present here a “differential secretome analysis”, comparing all the proteins released in vitro from the Smad4‐deficient and Smad4‐re‐expressing SW480 human colon carcinoma cells. The differential secretome catalog comprises more than 25 proteins including proteases and protease inhibitors, as well as established tumor biomarkers. In conclusion, this approach proved to be a sensitive tool to specifically detect Smad4 targets relevant for tumor‐stroma interactions. It is also able to reflect complex alterations of cellular physiology. Moreover, the results support our hypothesis that human tumor markers detectable in serum may be identified through differential secretome analyses.
A Young Man's Benefit: The Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Sickness Insurance in the United States and Canada, 1860-1929

Using cliometric methods and records from six grand-lodge archives, A Young Man's Benefit rejects the conventional wisdom about friendly societies and sickness insurance, arguing that IOOF lodges were financially sound institutions, were more efficient than commercial insurers, and met a market demand headed by young men who lacked alternatives to market insurance, not older men who had an above-average risk of sickness disability. Emery and Emery show that many young men joined the Odd Fellows for sickness insurance and quit the society once self-insurance - savings - or family insurance - secondary incomes from older children - made it feasible for them. The older men, who valued the social benefits of membership and did not need the sick benefit, gradually became a majority and dismantled the IOOF's insurance provisions.
How to protect and minimize consumer risk to identity theft

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and explain the identity theft cycle. The identity theft cycle explains how a perpetrator goes through various stages of confidence and experimentation when stealing an individual's identity.Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a conceptual approach by first describing identity theft in detail and then discussing the seriousness of identity theft for consumers today. The paper then presents and explains the identity theft cycle in greater detail including the stages of discovery, action, and trial.Findings – The paper provides evidence to suggest that if identity theft is detected early, consumers can protect themselves from the vast and difficult consequences of identity theft.Originality/value – This paper fulfills an important area of research by providing basic information about the nature of identity theft. This paper also discusses the various ways that perpetrators steal consumers' information, as well as teaches consumers how to proactivel.
Econometric modelling for short-term oil price forecasting

There is a lot of interest in forecasting oil price and in analysing which variables most affect price movements, especially whether non-fundamental variables such as financial activity have any systematic impact on oil price. In this paper we approach both questions by constructing a congruent econometric model with financial and fundamental variables and by analysing the relative weight of the variables in explaining the oil price forecast. After testing for different variables we find that the most accurate forecast from a monthly econometric vector model on oil price is obtained when non-commercial long positions, petroleum stocks and spare capacity are included as explanatory variables. The incorporation of non-commercial long positions clearly improves the accuracy of the prediction. The vector model is specified to include empirical cointegration relationship, which provides an approximation on the long-run restriction postulated by economic theory.
The hidden-Markov brain: comparison and inference of white matter hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

Rating and quantification of cerebral white matter hyperintensities on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are important tasks in various clinical and scientific settings. As manual evaluation is time consuming and imprecise, much effort has been made to automate the quantification of white matter hyperintensities. There is rarely any report that attempts to study the similarity/dissimilarity of white matter hyperintensity patterns that have different sizes, shapes and spatial localizations on the MRI. This paper proposes an original computational neuroscience framework for such a conceptual study with a standpoint that the prior knowledge about white matter hyperintensities can be accumulated and utilized to enable a reliable inference of the rating of a new white matter hyperintensity observation. This computational approach for rating inference of white matter hyperintensities, which appears to be the first study, can be utilized as a computerized rating-assisting tool and can be very economical for diagnostic evaluation of brain tissue lesions.
The Political Economy of Education in Metropolitan Areas: Dilemmas of Reform and Public Choice

For many years the fragmented nature of municipal and educational government in most American metropolitan areas has been criticized by reformers advocating centralized schemes of government, which they believe would be more efficient and equitable. This is not surprising, because conventional thought about "good government" and the public services is dominated by the powerful legacy of the Municipal Reform movement of the Progressive ERA (c. 1900—1914). This legacy emphasizes the pursuit of efficiency through the use of centralized, hierarchically organized bureaucracies staffed by nonpartisan professionals protected from corrupt politics by the civil service system. The perennial appeal of the Reform paradigm is remarkable, however, in light of the often dismal performance, over the past two decades, by the large, highly professionalized bureaucracies supplying key public services in our central cities. Indeed, it is common now to hear of "crises" in the delivery of urban services, not to mention complaints about bureaucratic rigidity, inefficiency, and lack of responsiveness to citizens' desires. Yet, one generally needs to look no further than the editorial page of the local newspaper to see calls for the creation of metropolitan governments, which we are assured, would usher in a new era of effi-
Do professional forecasters trust in Taylor-type rules? – Evidence from the Wall Street Journal poll

This article uses the monthly Wall Street Journal poll between 2002 and 2010 to analyse whether professional economic forecasters believe in and, thus, apply Taylor-type rules for their own forecasts. Using their forecasts for the Federal Funds rate, the inflation rate and capacity utilization, we estimate whether these are internally consistent with the message of Taylor(-type) rules. We find that the expectation formation can indeed be described by Taylor-type rules.
Dependence of Continuous-Flow Biofilm Formation by Listeria monocytogenes EGD-e on SOS Response Factor YneA

ABSTRACT Listeria monocytogenes was previously shown to form biofilms composed of a network of knitted chains under continuous-flow conditions. Here we show that the SOS response is activated under these conditions and that deletion of its regulon member yneA results in diminished biofilm formation under continuous-flow conditions.
Exposing the illusion of confidence in financial analysis

The use of discounted cashflow (DCF) techniques to evaluate major investment proposals is now commonplace. What is less generally known is that DCF analysis becomes unreliable when used to solve several common problems including the treatment of risk, real options, synergy and intangible assets. Argues that these problems occur primarily because the DCF approach assumes that decision makers are able to make accurate estimates of incremental risks and returns; a situation seldom encountered in practice. States that managers should beware the illusion of confidence created by financial figures developed in the absence of certainty. Suggests that in these cases, financial analysis should be supplemented, even supplanted, by strategic thinking and sound managerial judgement.
Analysis of Connection Centrality Degree of Hot Terminologies According to the Discourses of Privatization of Health Care

The purpose of this study was to review the agreement and disagreement logics on privatization of health care to bring quality enhancement of medical service and alienated area without medical services at the same time, to identify the core keywords through language network analysis a kind of contents analysis on the editorials dealing with privatization of health care and hospitals for profit published on the major daily newspapers for the recent three years, and to find out what is the core of the controversy through the connection centrality analysis of core keywords. Conclusively, it was found from the centrality analysis that "medical service," "hospital," "privatization," "privatization of health care," "hospital for profit" and "Government" were situated in the center of the controversy. It is natural that keywords such as "medical service," "hospital," "privatization," "privatization of health care"and "hospital for profit" were located in the center because this study reviewed the editorials published on major newspapers for the recent three years regarding the privatization of health care or hospital for profit. Next important keywords (words) were "people," "health"and "health insurance. " It shows that privatization of health care was not simply seen as the opening of medical service market but as an important issue related to health of people and health Insurance. Next words with high centrality were "objection" and "allowance. " Through the contents analysis of editorials for the last three years, it was found that the opinions for and against the privatization were equally matched according to the centrality analysis result. On the other hand, there is one noticeable result in centrality analysis, which is the keywords such as "US," "Korea US" and "FTA" showed centrality to some extent. It shows privatization is handled relating US and Korea US FTA by editorials.
Ibuprofen-conjugated hyaluronate/polygalacturonic acid hydrogel for the prevention of epidural fibrosis

The formation of fibrous tissue is part of the natural healing response following a laminectomy. Severe scar tissue adhesion, known as epidural fibrosis, is a common cause of failed back surgery syndrome. In this study, by combining the advantages of drug treatment with a physical barrier, an ibuprofen-conjugated crosslinkable polygalacturonic acid and hyaluronic acid hydrogel was developed for epidural fibrosis prevention. Conjugation was confirmed and measured by 1D 1H NMR spectroscopy. In vitro analysis showed that the ibuprofen-conjugated polygalacturonic acid–hyaluronic acid hydrogel showed low cytotoxicity. In addition, the conjugated ibuprofen decreased prostaglandin E2 production of the lipopolysaccharide-induced RAW264.7 cells. Histological data in in vivo studies indicated that the scar tissue adhesion of laminectomized male adult rats was reduced by the application of our ibuprofen-conjugated polygalacturonic acid-hyaluronic acid hydrogel. Its use also reduced the population of giant cells and collagen deposition of scar tissue without inducing extensive cell recruitment. The results of this study therefore suggest that the local delivery of ibuprofen via a polygalacturonic acid-hyaluronic acid-based hydrogel reduces the possibility of epidural fibrosis.
The impact of inter-organizational management control systems on performance: a longitudinal case study of a supplier relation in automotive

This study investigates whether appropriate management control design of supplier relations is associated with good performance. Although management control systems (MCSs) are found to be contingent on situational characteristics, it remains unclear whether this contingency fit contributes to performance. In order to illustrate the existence and refine the dynamics of the fit-performance association, we perform a longitudinal case study of an exemplary automotive manufacturer-supplier relation that was subject to considerable change and severe performance difficulties in the course of time. As proposed, case findings show that if the supplier is incapable of dealing with changed contingencies, a MCS contingency misfit is associated with poor operational performance. However, this misfit is only temporal, as the manufacturer adapts the MCS to fit the changed supplier relation and regain operational performance. In addition, the longitudinal data suggest that trust and basic formal control (i.e. formal control continuously exercised under all circumstances) are complements, while trust substitutes for extra formal control (i.e. formal control set up on top of basic formal control). Finally, our data indicate a timing difference in the substitutive relation. The building up of extra formal control proceeds gradually, while the lowering happens almost immediately.
Patient-Specific 3-Dimensional Printed Titanium Truss Cage With Tibiotalocalcaneal Arthrodesis for Salvage of Persistent Distal Tibia Nonunion

Management of large structural defects of the ankle and hindfoot is challenging with modest outcomes in the literature. Tibiotalocalcaneal (TTC) arthrodesis using a retrograde intramedullary nail has been used for the treatment of talar avascular necrosis, severe tibial plafond fractures, ankle and hindfoot nonunions, Charcot arthropathy, and failed total ankle arthroplasty. External fixators and spatial frames provide robust multiplanar correction of deformity, but little is known in the literature regarding the salvage treatment of persistent nonunion refractory to frame treatment. In this report, we present the case of an open tibial plafond fracture with nonunion despite 1 year of fixator and frame management that was successfully treated using a patient-specific 3-dimensional printed titanium truss cage in combination with a retrograde TTC nail. At most recent 1-year follow-up, the patient had minimal pain, no wound complications, and was able to ambulate and work independently without an assistive device for the first time in 2 years since his original injury. The case presented here serves as a proof of principle that requires future research to determine its long-term clinical benefits, cost-effectiveness, and complications. Level of Evidence: Level V: Expert Opinion
Legislative negotiations in the European Parliament

In order to capitalize on its increasing legislative powers, the European Parliament (EP) has had to specialize internally. The scholarly literature has predominantly studied the structural manifestations of specialization, such as the allocation of committee seats among parliamentarians. This article sheds light on a second selection process: participation in legislative negotiations. For every given legislative dossier, parliamentarians have to decide whether and how strongly to participate in the negotiations. The literature on office allocation contains assumptions about the role of office-holders in negotiations. The first aim of this article is to test the validity of these assumptions. The second aim is to apply theories used in studies on office allocation to negotiations and gain insight into the following questions: Are actors with extreme preferences more active than others? What is the role of experts? How do party politics play out? Although we find effects of preferences and expertise on negotiations, the evidence is most compatible with the view that negotiations serve EP party groups to form and exchange policy positions.
A survey on intelligent interaction and cooperative control of multi-robot systems

Multi-robot systems have drawn the attention of many different research communities, such as physics, electronics, control, computer science, mathematics, and biology. Motivated by the growing popularity of multi-robot system and related coordination approaches, this paper surveys and analyzes the relevant literature, including six classification dimensions: system architectures, communication and robotic sensor networks, swarm intelligence and swarm robotics, cooperation among robots, applications, and research projects.
The Influence of the Venture Capitalist's Governance Activities on the Entrepreneurial Firm's Control Systems and Performance

Venture capitalists (VCs) contribute to entrepreneurial firms by engaging in governance activities, such as providing services and monitoring the entrepreneurial firm's operations and performance. This study examines the role and influence of the VC's governance activities on 93 Dutch entrepreneurial firms. Results suggest that while the VC's governance activities may help to stimulate the use of the entrepreneurial firm's control systems, they also moderate the relationship between the entrepreneurial firm's use of control systems and its financial performance. It appears in particular that cost control systems contribute positively to the entrepreneurial firm's financial performance when the VC provides service activities. However, the use of cost control systems tends to be negatively related to the entrepreneurial firm's financial performance when the VC is highly focused on monitoring.
Hybrid modeling of McKibben pneumatic artificial muscle systems

This paper presents a hybrid modeling method for a pneumatic artificial muscle that vertically suspends a mass. The modeling mainly consists of mechanical and hydrodynamic equations and is developed with empirical modifications. A feature of this approach is that it allows the model to include if-then formulation and nonlinearity such as flow dynamics and friction. And the model includes a novel mass flow model which allows the mass flow rate to converge to zero in steady-state operation. Furthermore, in order to show validation of the obtained hybrid model using a practical testbed system of the PAM we made.