Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Examining the link between outsourcing and performance: the leverage effect of the interactive use of management accounting and control systems

Previous literature reveals contradictory results when evaluating the effect of outsourcing on organisational performance. In attempting to explain this contradiction, the existing research seems to have overlooked potential intermediate variables such as management accounting and control systems (MACS). Because an inadequate control of supplier relationships can impair the performance of outsourcing operations, there is a need to adopt management tools to build and improve these relationships. MACS comprise the various policies and procedures used to ensure that the suppliers’ behaviour and decisions are consistent with outsourcing objectives. The interactive use of these management tools can help effectively manage the relationship between the outsourcing organisation and the outsourcer. Taking a sample of 231 organisations, the results obtained support the research question, suggesting that interactive use of MACS moderates the impact of some outsourced activities on performance.
Comprehensive Protein-Based Artificial MicroRNA Screens for Effective Gene Silencing in Plants[W]

This work uses a facile protein-based screen to systematically examine the efficacy and action mechanism of amiRNAs, thereby allowing selection of optimal amiRNAs for gene silencing from hundreds of computationally predicted candidates. Artificial microRNA (amiRNA) approaches offer a powerful strategy for targeted gene manipulation in any plant species. However, the current unpredictability of amiRNA efficacy has limited broad application of this promising technology. To address this, we developed epitope-tagged protein-based amiRNA (ETPamir) screens, in which target mRNAs encoding epitope-tagged proteins were constitutively or inducibly coexpressed in protoplasts with amiRNA candidates targeting single or multiple genes. This design allowed parallel quantification of target proteins and mRNAs to define amiRNA efficacy and mechanism of action, circumventing unpredictable amiRNA expression/processing and antibody unavailability. Systematic evaluation of 63 amiRNAs in 79 ETPamir screens for 16 target genes revealed a simple, effective solution for selecting optimal amiRNAs from hundreds of computational predictions, reaching ∼100% gene silencing in plant cells and null phenotypes in transgenic plants. Optimal amiRNAs predominantly mediated highly specific translational repression at 5′ coding regions with limited mRNA decay or cleavage. Our screens were easily applied to diverse plant species, including Arabidopsis thaliana, tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Catharanthus roseus, maize (Zea mays) and rice (Oryza sativa), and effectively validated predicted natural miRNA targets. These screens could improve plant research and crop engineering by making amiRNA a more predictable and manageable genetic and functional genomic technology.
Stereochemistry of C18 monounsaturated cork suberin acids determined by spectroscopic techniques including (1) H-NMR multiplet analysis of olefinic protons.

INTRODUCTION Suberin is a biopolyester responsible for the protection of secondary plant tissues, and yet its molecular structure remains unknown. The C18:1 ω-hydroxyacid and the C18:1 α,ω-diacid are major monomers in the suberin structure, but the configuration of the double bond remains to be elucidated. OBJECTIVE To unequivocally define the configuration of the C18:1 suberin acids. METHODS Pure C18:1 ω-hydroxyacid and C18:1 α,ω-diacid, isolated from cork suberin, and two structurally very close C18:1 model compounds of known stereochemistry, methyl oleate and methyl elaidate, were analysed by NMR spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, and GC-MS. RESULTS The GC-MS analysis showed that both acids were present in cork suberin as only one geometric isomer. The analysis of dimethyloxazoline (DMOX) and picolinyl derivatives proved the double bond position to be at C-9. The FTIR spectra were concordant with a cis-configuration for both suberin acids, but their unambiguous stereochemical assignment came from the NMR analysis: (i) the chemical shifts of the allylic (13) C carbons were shielded comparatively to the trans model compound, and (ii) the complex multiplets of the olefinic protons could be simulated only with (3) JHH and long-range (4) JHH coupling constants typical of a cis geometry. CONCLUSION The two C18:1 suberin acids in cork are (Z)-18-hydroxyoctadec-9-enoic acid and (Z)-octadec-9-enedoic acid.
Managerial Roles and Performance Measurement Practices in the Kenyan Hotel Industry: a Structural Equation Modeling Approach.

A cross-sectional study of 124 managers in six hotels in Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya found a linkage between managerial roles and performance measurement practices using Structural Equation Modeling approach. All the six factors of the measurement model had a strong evidence of unidimensionality, reliability, convergent and discriminant validities. Furthermore, the overall modified model Chi-square, NFI, RMSEA, and the NFI exceeded the obligatory requirements. Hospitality organizations that want to implement effective performance management systems should use managerial roles to influence managers' performance measurement practices. The purpose of this study was to determine the linkage between managerial roles and performance measurement practices in the Kenyan hotel industry.
Collateral channel and credit cycle : evidence from the land-price collapse in Japan

This paper investigates empirically the effect of real assets as collateral on the economy. As pointed out by Kiyotaki and Moore (1997), when loans are collateralized and firms are credit constrained, the amount borrowed is determined by the value of the collateral; a decrease in the price of productive assets will therefore have a negative impact on firm investments. These effects are cumulative, which leads to credit cycles. There are potentially two major difficulties in empirically testing the relationship between collateral and firm investments. First, the value of collateral often is not observable due to the lack of active secondary markets for collateralizable assets, such as plants and machineries. Second, collateral is endogenous. For example, when firms invest they need to purchase machines and build plants, which expands their collateralizable assets. This paper deals with these two difficulties by using the land-price collapse in Japan in the early 1990s as a natural experiment. In Japan, the main form of collateral for corporate borrowing is land, the value of which is observable. In addition, between 1990 and 1993, there was a near 50% drop in land prices, which was unambiguously exogenous to any one individual firm. As firms suffer losses proportionate to their land holding, the amount of land held prior to the shock can serve as an exogenous instrument to measure collateral. I find that collateral affected Japanese firm investments in two important ways. The first is a collateral-damage effect: losses in collateral value reduced investments. The second is an indirect internal-liquidity effect: with reduced borrowing capacity, the firms had to rely more upon internally generated cash to finance their investments. In addition to the investment analysis, we use a unique dataset of matched firm-bank lending, which permits us to further examine the mechanism through which collateral affects firm investments. In particular, I investigate whether colllateral losses also leads to reduced borrowing capacities. The matched sample allows me to control for unobservable heterogeneity in the loan supply. The results show, again, a significant collateral-damage effect: banks tended to lend less to those who suffered greater collateral losses. ∗I thank Sudipto Dasgupta, Vidhan Goyal, Takeo Hoshi, Stewert Myers, Raghu Rajan, David Scharfstein, William Wheaton, and seminar participants at HKUST, MIT, and NBER Summer Institute for their comments and suggestions. I also thank Yoshiaki Ogura for excellent research assistance and a faculty research grant from the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at the Columibia Business School. †Department of Finance, School of Business and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Email: jgan@ust.hk; Tel: 852 2358 7665; Fax: 852 2358 1749. Collateral Channel and Credit Cycle: Evidence from the Land-Price Collapse in Japan
Occult papillary thyroid carcinoma: prevalence at autopsy in Turkish people

The epidemiological features of occult papillary thyroid carcinoma (OPTC) at autopsy have not previously been reported in Turkish people. This study provides data on the prevalence of OPTC in people from the Marmara region in Turkey. The study includes thyroid glands from 93 male and 15 female cadavers between 18 and 80 years of age. The thyroid glands were removed, fixed and sectioned at 2-mm intervals. The sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and were examined by a single pathologist. A total of 108 thyroid glands were examined. Macroscopic lesions were found in 36 (33.3%) glands (95% confidence interval=24–42). OPTC was found in four (3.7%) cases (95% confidence interval=1.0–7.5). It was concluded that in the Turkish people from the Marmara region, the prevalence of OPTC found at autopsy was relatively low. No age or sex predilection was detected.
Impact of Knowledge Type and Strategic Orientation on New Product Creativity and Advantage in High-Technology Firms†

As different types of knowledge may have different effects on new product positional advantage, knowledge portfolio management in concert with the firm's strategic orientation is indispensable for new product success. However, previous research has not dealt with the knowledge resources and strategic implementations that affect new product development (NPD). To fill in this gap, the current study focuses on two dimensions of knowledge type (knowledge complexity and knowledge tacitness) and two forms of strategic orientation (technological orientation and market orientation), which influence the positional advantages as determinants of NPD outcomes. Drawing on the resource-based view, this study explains how these knowledge and strategic orientation variables influence new product creativity, which comprised the novel and meaningful characteristics of new products. Finally, it demonstrates how these two dimensions of new product creativity differentially provide product advantages in terms of customer satisfaction and product differentiation, which lead to superior new product performance. A conceptual framework is developed and the related hypotheses provided to incorporate the study variables and to test their relationships in a sample based on data collected from both marketing and project managers from 100 U.S. high-technology firms. The model estimation results from path analysis demonstrate that reliance on knowledge of high tacitness harms meaningfulness, while reliance on knowledge of high complexity increases both novelty and meaningfulness of new product. As expected, market orientation and technological orientation improve the meaningfulness and novelty dimensions of the new product, respectively. New product novelty and meaningfulness are shown to enhance new product advantage in terms of product differentiation and customer satisfaction, both of which contribute to new product performance. It is also found that the combinative use of market orientation and knowledge complexity, and technological orientation and knowledge tacitness positively influence both the novelty and meaningfulness of new products. This study, using the product-level analysis, contributes to the literature by clarifying how the firm's different knowledge properties and strategic orientations both play a role as a source of new product creativity, and how new product creativity, as a valuable and rare resource, enhances new product advantage. The study results suggest that project/product managers should increase the transferability and codifiability of unstructured knowledge by stimulating intraorganizational knowledge sharing among NPD team members, and that they should promote both technology and market-orientated practices to fully develop creativity of new products.
Virtual Network Services For Federated Cloud Computing

Creating a seemingly infinite cloud computing infrastructure where services can be deployed, extended, and migrated on demand and across different administrative domains, IT platforms and geographies sets new challenges for virtual networking. This work highlights a set of basic principles and requirements from cloud virtual networking services. In view of such requirements, a novel overlay network is suggested to enable virtual network services across federated clouds. The design of such a virtual network service is described and compared with alternative technologies, and its traffic performance validated. The work described here enables the establishment of large scale virtual networks, free of any location dependency, that result in completely ’migratable’ virtual networks. Network scalability concerns are mitigated by taking specific advantage of cloud computing. The service can be offered using different underlying network technologies and includes a hierarchical design to ensure the privacy, security, and independence of the federated infrastructure providers.
chopBAI: BAM index reduction solves I/O bottlenecks in the joint analysis of large sequencing cohorts

Summary Advances in sequencing capacity have lead to the generation of unprecedented amounts of genomic data. The processing of this data frequently leads to I/O bottlenecks, e. g. when analyzing a small genomic region across a large number of samples. The largest I/O burden is, however, often not imposed by the amount of data needed for the analysis but rather by index files that help retrieving this data. We have developed chopBAI, a program that can chop a BAM index (BAI) file into small pieces. The program outputs a list of BAI files each indexing a specified genomic interval. The output files are much smaller in size but maintain compatibility with existing software tools. We show how preprocessing BAI files with chopBAI can lead to a reduction of I/O by more than 95% during the analysis of 10 Kbp genomic regions, eventually enabling the joint analysis of more than 10,000 individuals. Availability and Implementation The software is implemented in C++, GPL licensed and available at http://github.com/DecodeGenetics/chopBAI
Topological Analysis of Niemann-Pick C1 Protein Reveals That the Membrane Orientation of the Putative Sterol-sensing Domain Is Identical to Those of 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA Reductase and Sterol Regulatory Element Binding Protein Cleavage-activating Protein*

The Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1) protein is predicted to be a polytopic glycoprotein, and it contains a region with extensive homology to the sterol-sensing domains (SSD) of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMG-R) and sterol regulatory element binding protein cleavage-activating protein (SCAP). To aid the functional characterization of NPC1, a model of NPC1 topology was evaluated by expression of epitope-tagged NPC1 proteins and investigation of epitope accessibility in selectively permeabilized cells. These results were further confirmed by expression of NPC1 and identification of glycosylated domains that are located in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Our data indicate that this glycoprotein contains 13 transmembrane domains, 3 large and 4 small luminal loops, 6 small cytoplasmic loops, and a cytoplasmic tail. Furthermore, our data show that the putative SSD of NPC1 is oriented in the same manner as those of HMG-R and SCAP, providing strong evidence that this domain is functionally important.
Antecedents of Word-of-Mouth for Meat with Traceability: Evidence from Thai Consumers

— Because of the outbreak of mad cow disease and bird flu, consumers have become more concerned with quality and safety of meat and poultry. As a consequence, meat traceability has been implemented as a tool to raise the standard in the meat production industry. In Thailand, while traceability is relatively common among the manufacturer-wholesaler-retailers cycle, it is rarely used as a marketing tool specifically designed to persuade consumers who are the actual meat endusers. Therefore, the present study attempts to understand what influences consumers to spread their words-of-mouth (WOM) regarding meat with traceability by conducting a study in Thailand where research in this area is rather scant. Data were collected from one hundred and sixty-seven consumers in the northeastern region and analyzed with SEM. The study results reveal that perceived usefulness of traceability system, social norms, and product class knowledge are significant antecedents where consumers spread positive words regarding meat with traceability system. A number of theoretical and managerial implications as well as future study directions are offered at the end of this study report.
FPGA-based PWM for three-phase SEPIC rectifier

This paper presents the design and implementation of synchronous pulse-width modulation (PWM) for a three-phase three-switch Single Ended Primary Inductance Converter (SEPIC). The PWM switching patterns are generated from an Altera Cyclone II field programmable gate array (FPGA) device. Two types of carrier waveforms are used with two 60°sine waveforms, taking less space in the FPGA, providing more space for control circuits. Comparative study of two PWM methods is also shown. Verification of simulation results are based on hardware-in-the-loop technique, to show the effectiveness of digital-based PWM control.
The PDZ1 Domain of SAP90

The structural features of the PDZ1 domain of the synapse-associated protein SAP90 have been characterized by NMR. A comparison with the structures of the PDZ2 and PDZ3 domains of SAP90 illustrates significant differences, which may account for the unique binding properties of these homologous domains. Within the postsynaptic density, SAP90 functions as a molecular scaffold with a number of the protein-protein interactions mediated through the PDZ1 domain. Here, using fluorescence anisotropy and NMR chemical shift analysis, we have characterized the association of PDZ1 to the C-terminal peptides of the GluR6 subunit of the kainate receptor, voltage-gated K+ channel Kv1.4, and microtubule-associate protein CRIPT, all of which are known to associate with SAP90. The latter two, which possess the consensus sequence for binding to PDZ domains (T/S-X-V-oh), have low micromolar binding affinities (1.5–15 μm). The C terminus of GluR6, RLPGKETMA-oh, lacking the consensus sequence, binds to PDZ1 of SAP90 with an affinity of 160 μm. The NMR data illustrate that although all three peptides occupy the binding groove capped by the GLGF loop of PDZ1, specific differences are present, consistent with the variation in binding affinities.
The Impact of Armed Conflict on Firms' Performance and Perceptions

This study is the first to explore the short-run impact of armed conflict on firms’ performance and their perceptions of the business environment. We focus on the August 2008 conflict between Georgia and Russia and use the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey data before and after this armed conflict. We can exploit the variation in armed conflict exposure to identify these relationships. The difference-in-differences estimates suggest that despite the short duration, armed conflict had a significant and negative impact on exports, sales and employment for at least a subset of firms. Perceptions of a few business environment obstacles were also affected, but not necessarily negatively. The results suggest that young firms experienced a scarring effect, which could lead them to close down prematurely. Longer-term impacts of the conflict on firms’ performance and local economic development can therefore not be ruled out.
Constructing the eEconomy Bled , Slovenia , June 17-19 , 2002 An eBusiness Model Ontology for Modeling eBusiness

After explaining why business executives and academics should consider thinking about a rigorous approach to e-business models, we introduce a new e-Business Model Ontology. Using the concept of business models can help companies understand, communicate and share, change, measure, simulate and learn more about the different aspects of e-business in their firm. The generic e-Business Model Ontology (a rigorous definition of the e-business issues and their interdependencies in a company’s business model), which we outline in this paper is the foundation for the development of various useful tools for e-business management and IS Requirements Engineering. The e-Business Model Ontology is based on an extensive literature review and describes the logic of a “business system” for creating value in the Internet era. It is composed of four main pillars, which are product innovation, infrastructure management, customer relationship and financials. These elements are then further decomposed. Alexander Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur
Exploring the Design of an IT Governance Minimum Baseline in the Belgian Financial Services Sector

In many organisations, information technology (IT) has become crucial in the support, sustainability and growth of the business. This pervasive use of technology has created a critical dependency on IT that calls for a specific focus on IT governance. IT governance consists of the leadership and organisational structures and processes that enable the required alignment between business and IT. This practice-oriented research concentrates on the IT governance practices that organisations can leverage to implement IT governance in reality and is in the first place, for reasons of internal validity, focused at the Belgian financial services sector. Based on literature research, pilot case research and delphi research, this paper provides insights regarding the effectiveness and ease of implementation of IT governance practices and regarding a minimum baseline of practices that organisation at least should have. Via this research, we want to contribute to new theory building in the IT governance domain of knowledge and assist practitioners by providing more guidance on how IT governance can be effectively implemented.