Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
When Should Customers Control Service Delivery? Implications for Service Design

What do a Mongolian stir‐fry restaurant and a medical lab providing home testing solutions have in common? They are both innovative services that base their success on customers controlling part of the service delivery. These providers allow service tasks to be performed by the customers as a means of shaping the overall experience and not strictly as a means of “outsourcing” the service. Motivated by such practices, we explore whether and how should providers allocate the control of different tasks of their service to the customers. We model services as multistep processes with each step affecting customers’ experience at other steps. At certain steps the provider may hold an “expert” role and be more capable of performing than the customers, whereas at other steps she may hold an “administrative” role and be less capable of performing than the customers. We distinguish between routine services, where the service outcome must conform to standardized specifications, and non‐routine services, where the value of the service outcome relies on subjective dimensions. We show that the optimal design is determined by an economically intuitive rule whereby the provider controls the steps based on the marginal benefit she can derive compared to self‐service. For routine services, this rule translates to managing “blocks” of steps because the provider benefits from containing the volatility of the experiences across the service even when this implies the provision of service steps with a negative marginal benefit, that is, steps which she is less capable of performing than the customers. Instead, in non‐routine services providers should focus on the value advantage they can ensure through a “core provision” even if this implies forgoing control of steps for which they are more capable of performing than the customers and from which they can derive positive marginal benefit. This implies that in non‐routine services the provider exercises more control up to a certain process length; beyond that she delegates more steps to the customers. When customers differ in their abilities to perform the different steps, the provider may offer a service line. Service lines facilitate better segmentation than a single service offering, but their economic benefit exhibits an inverted “U‐shaped” relationship with respect to the number of steps that a service comprises. Finally, we find that competition between two providers who differ in their capabilities to perform a service results in service design differentiation where the more capable provider offers a higher‐end “focused service” against a lower‐end “super‐service” offered from the less capable provider.
Increased brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity is associated with impaired endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease

Background Pulse wave velocity and flow‐mediated vasodilation (FMD) are widely used as noninvasive modalities for evaluating atherosclerosis. However, it is not known whether pulse wave velocity is related to FMD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the alteration in brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and endothelial function in CAD patients. Methods Thirty‐three patients with CAD and thirty control subjects were recruited for this study. baPWV was measured non‐invasively using a VP 1000 automated PWV/ABI analyzer (PWV/ABI, Colin Co. Ltd., Komaki, Japan). Endothelial function as reflected by FMD in the brachial artery was assessed with a high‐resolution ultrasound device. Results baPWV was increased in CAD patients compared with control subjects [(1756.1±253.1) cm/s vs (1495.3±202.3) cm/s, P<0.01]. FMD was significantly reduced in CAD patients compared with control subjects [(5.2 ± 2.1) % vs (11.1 ± 4.4) %, P<0.01]. baPWV correlated with FMD (r =‐ 0.68, P<0.001). The endothelium‐independent vasodilation induced by sublingual nitroglycerin in the brachial artery was similar in the CAD group compared with the control group. Conclusions CAD is associated with increased baPWV and endothelial dysfunction. Increased baPWV parallels diminished endothelial function. Our data therefore suggest that baPWV can be used as a noninvasive surrogate index in clinical evaluation of endothelial function. Chin Med J2006;119(22):1866–1870
Foreign-born CEOs, country-specific skills, selection, and strategic consequences

This study extends the managerial skills typology of the managerial rents model. I specifically propose adding country-specific skills in addition to firm-specific, industryspecific, and generic skills. Country-specific skills refer to managers’ abilities and knowledge that are applicable and specific to a particular national institutional context. These skills are valuable, rare, hard to imitate, and substitute. They are also distinct from the other three types identified. I argue that ultimately their heterogeneity matter in many arenas expanding on their impact for managerial selection, managerial actions, and ultimately firm performance. INTRODUCTION Castanias and Helfat (1991) developed the managerial rents model that was fleshed out and refined over the years (e.g., Bailey & Helfat, 2001; Castanias & Helfat, 2001; Holcomb, Holmes, & Conelly, 2009). Drawing on human capital theory, this model reiterated the importance of managerial resources as important components of the entire bundle of firm resources. It argued that managerial resources defined as skills and abilities of managers are neither uniform nor homogeneous across firms and can generate both Ricardian rent, due to rarity, and quasi-rent, due to co-specialization with the firm. Another key contribution of this model is the managerial skills typology that it provides. Contrary to previous typologies of managerial skills (e.g., Becker, 1962; Katz,
Impact of advection process in simulating the dynamics of diffusion-controlled irreversible fast/moderate/slow bimolecular-reactive systems

Diffusion-controlled bimolecular reactions arise in various branches of natural sciences [1], chemically reacting systems [2], and contaminant transport [3]. Based on the kinetics of the chemical reaction, they are broadly classifi ed in to three categories: fast, moderate, and slow [4]. Herein, we are interested in the dynamics of a (fast/ moderate/slow) bimolecular reaction given by the following stoichiometric relationship [5]: nA A + nB B −→ nC C In this discussion, we shall present a computational framework to simulate the dynamics of an irreversible bimolecular advection–diffusion–reaction (ADR) system within the context of low-order mixed fi nite element method. Most importantly, we shall study the effect of advection process on the formation of product C and its role in understanding fast/moderate/slow chemical reaction kinetics. In continuous setting, it is well-known in the literature on partial differential equations [6–8] that the solution to the governing equations ADR system possesses various important physical and mathematical properties such as non-negativity, maximum principles, comparison principles, monotonicity, and monotone property. Herein, we shall discuss whether such properties are inherited or lost during the procedure of fi nite element discretization. Furthermore, through various representative examples, we shall quantify the errors incurred in satisfying the local and global species balance property. Finally, we shall provide a general methodology to satisfy all these discrete properties (including local and global species balance property) simultaneously within the context of low-order fi nite elements.
The sex and age of older adults influence the outcome of induced trips.

BACKGROUND Falls are a significant source of morbidity and mortality in older adults, with up to 53% of these falls due to tripping. To aid in fall prevention, there is a need to identify the factors that determine whether a trip is recoverable and those factors that increase an older adult's risk of falling. METHODS Trips were induced during gait in 79 healthy, community-dwelling, safety-harnessed older adults (50 women) using a concealed, mechanical obstacle. Trip outcomes were graded as recoveries, falls, rope-assists, or misses. Kinematics were recorded during normal gait, without and with the safety harness. Selected gait parameters were compared to determine whether the experimental conditions affected gait at the time of the trip. RESULTS Thirty-nine trip outcomes were classified as recoveries, 10 as falls, 12 as rope-assists, and 18 as misses. Women fell more than four times as frequently as men. Women younger than 70 years fell more than three times as frequently as those older. Trip outcomes in the men were essentially unaffected by age. The foot obstructed to induce the trip did not affect the trip outcome. The presence of the safety harness had almost no effect on gait. The length of the stride preceding the trip did not differ from normal. CONCLUSIONS The majority of trips in healthy older adults did not result in falls. Older women were more likely than men to fall following a trip. The likelihood of falling from a trip was greatest in the youngest older women.
Fictional citizens and real effects: accountability to citizens in competitive and monopolistic markets

This paper evaluates the influence of market conditions – (semi) competitive versus monopolistic markets –on (the effects of) citizen accountability on public sector organisations. Empirical material from case studies in education, healthcare, social security and land registry in the Netherlands is presented. The cases are analyzed in terms of types of citizen accountability and effects on policies of public sector organizations. The explorative research showed that Dutch public service organizations increasingly account to citizens through a variety of arrangements. The effects of citizen accountability are modest but different for competitive and monopolistic markets. Public sector organizations in competitive markets have increased their focus on both client demands and performance (in the form of performance indicators) whereas those in monopolistic markets enhanced their focus only on specific client demands. Interestingly, these effects do not take place because citizens actually call public sector organizations to account but merely because public sector organisations anticipate that they could be called to account. The paper provides an important addition to theories about citizen accountability by showing that ‘fictional citizens’ have real effects both in (semi) competitive and monopolistic markets.
A Comparison: Futures, Swaps, and ETFs

This article compares the three Delta One investments—futures, swaps, and exchange-traded funds—across three key dimensions: operational efficiency, cost, and risk. Examples are used to provide an indication of the typical costs associated with all three investment options. Some of the key findings from this article are: The most appropriate Delta One investment will always be a function of individual investor needs, preference, and constraints. ETFs offer a useful mix of low costs and operational efficiency. From a pure cost perspective, futures perform well, mainly due to roll-related contract mispricing. In terms of risk, the lowest tracking error should be attainable from swaps. Increased market concern about counterparty risk is negative for swaps but positive for futures and ETFs.
NUCLEOSIDES, NUCLEOTIDES & NUCLEIC ACIDS

The diurnal change of sUA and the effect of febuxostat on this change were investigated in 10 patients with gout and/or hyperuricemia. The diurnal sUA change after the last dose during the 4-week treatment phase (20 mg, QD) was almost the same as the pre-treatment value. Considering the dose, the AUCobs and Cmax of unchanged drug in patients with gout and/or hyperuricemia were estimated to be similar to those of healthy male adults. The results show that a 6-week treatment with febuxostat is safe and well-tolerated in the target patient population for this drug.
DETECTION OF VIRULENCE FACTOR ASSOCIATED GENES OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPP . FROM CATTLE IN ANAND , GUJARAT , INDIA

The aim of this study was to detect the virulence factor associated genes of Campylobacter spp. from cattle faecal samples in Anand city, Gujarat, India. Campylobacter isolates (n=8) used in this study were isolated from 200 faecal samples collected from the Anand city, Polymerase chain reaction technique was used for detection of five genes, namely flaA, cadF, iamA, flgR and cdtB genes of Campylobacter spp. Out of eight isolates, all the eight were positive for cadF, cdtB and flgR (100 percent) while six isolates were positive for flaA gene and four isolates were positive for iamA gene of Campylobacter spp. Presence of cadF, cdtB and flgR gene in all isolates shows that they are the specific targets for Campylobacter identification and are capable of producing gastroenteric illness to humans.
Improving of irrigation management: a learning based approach

Farmers draw upon a wide range of sources for learning, and change to irrigation management are influenced by the quality of information networks between stakeholders (researcher, extensionist and farmers as part of the agricultural knowledge triangle), and their means of accessing outside information are important adoption factors. As in the case of most occupational groupings, farmers belong to various information networks and have a wide range of abilities and knowledge. However not all farmers learn in the same manner. These factors suggest that to encourage better understanding and implementation of irrigation scheduling practices it is important to focus on how irrigation farmers might learn about these practices. This paper presents the findings of a study that was conducted to identify social, cultural, economic and technological factors, which influence the adoption of irrigation scheduling practices on the farm. The study showed that irrigation farmers use different learning sources and that informal interaction and social networks play an important role in farmer learning. Keywords : irrigation, management, extensionist, adoption South African Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 34(2) 2005: 151-165
MRI of the occipital cortex, red nucleus, and substantia nigra during visual aura of migraine

The authors report a patient with migraine in whom they measured brain oxygenation indirectly during a visual aura by means of T2-weighted MRI. An aura of left homonomous quadrantanopia was accompanied by increased T2-weighted contrast intensity of bilateral regions in the occipital cortex, and the red nucleus and substantia nigra bilaterally. The mechanisms of these changes remain to be determined, but in this patient the migraine aura was associated with probable hyperoxia and not cerebal ischemia.
Polyamine biosynthetic activity in normal and neoplastic human colorectal tissues

Polyamine biosynthetic activity was assessed in various colorectal tissue samples consisting of noninvolved mucosa, benign adenomatous polyps and adenocarcinomas taken at surgery from a total of 40 patients. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) displayed a gradient of enzyme activity (i.e., adenocarcinoma > polyps > mucosa) which seemed to correlate positively with the neoplastic status of the tissue. In 10 of the patients, samples were obtained for all three tissue types. Five of these exhibited a clear repetition of the trends in enzyme activity seen with the mixed patient tissue sampling whereas the remainder differed by having the highest ODC activity in the polyps. In nine of the ten cases, ODC activity was substantially lower in the mucosa than in either of the neoplastic lesions. Trends in enzyme activity were the same for tissues obtained from either the colon or rectum. The ODC activity in adenocarcinomas could not be correlated with histologic differentiation, stage or site of the disease, however, in samples from female patients (all postmenopausal) the activity was elevated over normal mucosa to a greater extent (ten‐fold) than in male patients (seven‐fold). S‐adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activity was assessed in 27 of the 40 patients and found to follow the same distribution as ODC; however, the mean value differences ± SEM between tissues were less distinct. In general, tissue polyamine pool analysis of these same specimens reflected the levels of ornithine and S‐adenosylmethionine decarboxylase activities. Overall, the data reveal an increase in polyamine biosynthetic activity in colorectal neoplasms, relative to surrounding mucosa, which may correlate with (1) progression of the neoplastic process, (2) the proportion of proliferating cells, (3) the rate of cell proliferation, or (4) a combination of two or all of these possibilities.
Isolation of group A swine rotaviruses displaying atypical electropherotypes

Swine rotaviruses displaying distinctive electropherotypes were isolated from the feces of diarrheic piglets in two swine herds in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. In one case all samples isolated showed abnormal electropherotypes. All samples were classified as group A reactive when assayed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Three samples from this herd were adapted to grow in tissue culture. The electrophoretic pattern of the genomic RNA as well as the group A reactivity of one of these viruses was retained after cloning in MA-104 cells. In the other pig unit were found samples displaying both classical and abnormal electropherotypes. These viruses were also positive in the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; however, since they could not be adapted to grow in tissue culture, this classification must be considered tentative. The abnormal electropherotype exhibited by these pig viruses strongly resembles those of human origin called super short.
ON THE USE OF TRANSPORTATION STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE DEMAND

The use of transportation to reduce total logistics costs is well established. However, the application of transportation strategies to increase product demand, to expand market share, to differentiate the product/service of fering, and for competitive advantage is rarely considered. This paper explicates and integrates transportation strategies and service offerings that can be used to promote demand. Attention is also given to channel-wide transportation strategies for overall channel competitive advantage. The paper concludes that transportation strategies and service offerings must be integrated into both the customer service mix and the broader product-market strategy of the firm and channel in order to create the greatest long-run sustainable competitive advantage for the firm or channel.
Iterative multi-user detection of trellis code multiple access using a posteriori probabilities

Iterative detectors for trellis code multiple access (TCMA) are suggested as an alternative to the joint maximum likelihood sequence detector (MLSD). Interleavers are introduced in the TCMA system as a new feature to separate the users. This implies that MLSD is now too complex to implement. The conventional interference cancellation (IC) detector has lower complexity, but its performance is shown to be far from acceptable. Another iterative detector having close to single user performance is therefore suggested. Instead of using IC, this detector updates the branch metric for every iteration and avoids the standard Gaussian approximation. It is also shown that the users can be detected when the interleaver is the only user specific feature in the TCMA system.
Design Methodology of a Micro-Scale 2-DOF Energy Harvesting Device for Low Frequency and Wide Bandwidth

A detailed design methodology of a micro-scale 2-DOF energy harvesting device that can harvest human motion energy of low frequency and wide bandwidth is developed. Based on the concept of the 2-DOF vibration absorber, device parameters are selected to harvest energy at low frequency of 1-10 Hz and wide bandwidth with ±20% of the mean frequency, which matches the human motion. The device dimensions are limited to 40 × 30 × 10 mm3 to fit with the human wrist size. Then, a finite element model is developed to investigate the system performance with the selected parameters. When subjected to harmonic excitation of 1 g, the proposed 2-DOF device is able to provide a power of at least 10 μW in between the two close resonant peaks of 4 Hz and 6 Hz, which is the target frequency range. The device shows very high power per square frequency compared with the reported harvesters.
Issues for IT Governance in a Large Not-for-Profit Organization: A Case Study

This paper reports on the implementation of IT Governance in a not-for-profit healthcare organization. The motivation behind such an undertaking was partly the need to run the IT Division as a business aligned to the strategic goals of the organization, and partly to be able to demonstrate the professional accountability of the IT decision-making investment process. Certainly, top management's support for the roll out of IT Governance was related to the latter motive. In this case study the organizational gains in focusing on best value for the investment dollar, accountable time-frames and cost- controls, were real. As such, the move enhanced the professional status of the IT Department. However, the organizational structure imposed by IT Governance provided such transparency that the IT Department additionally achieved more widespread participation and buy in from the wider business.
Smoking and bladder cancer.

Many people do not realize that smoking tobacco is the single most important known risk factor for bladder cancer. Smoking is estimated to contribute to 50% of bladder tumors. Current smokers are at higher risk than former smokers. Second-hand smoke can also increase the risk for the development of bladder cancer. While many people think “vaping” is safer than smoking, recent research suggests that both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes contribute to an increased risk for bladder cancer.
Chemokines and Incident Coronary Heart Disease: Results From the MONICA/KORA Augsburg Case-Cohort Study, 1984–2002

Objectives—The chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2), interleukin-8 (IL-8/CXCL8), and interferon-&ggr;–inducible protein-10 (IP-10/CXCL10) have been reported to be involved in the development of atherosclerosis and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to assess whether elevated systemic levels of these chemokines precede coronary events. Methods and Results—We investigated MCP-1, IL-8, and IP-10 serum levels in a case-cohort design based on data from 381 individuals (294 men, 87 women) with and 1977 individuals (1006 men, 971 women) without incident coronary heart disease (CHD) from the prospective, population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg study (1984 to 2002). The mean follow-up time was 11.0 years. Baseline concentrations were significantly higher in cases compared with noncases (P≤0.001 for all chemokines). MCP-1 and IL-8 remained associated with CHD risk after adjustment for age, sex, and survey with hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) comparing extreme tertiles of 1.39 (1.05 to 1.84) for MCP-1 and 1.48 (1.10 to 1.99) for IL-8. However, adjustment for further cardiovascular and immunologic risk factors attenuated the observed associations, and they became nonsignificant. Conclusions—Elevated systemic levels of the chemokines MCP-1, IL-8, and IP-10 precede CHD but do not represent independent risk factors. Thus, the associations are less pronounced than previously shown for type 2 diabetes.