bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Safety and efficacy of single-balloon enteroscopy in management of gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with a left ventricular assist device
Authors: Koul Abhinav , Pham Donald , Nanda Arjun , Woods Kevin , Keilin Steven 
Published: March 2017

Abstract
Background and study aims Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are currently the standard of care in treatment of patients with end-stage heart failure waiting for heart transplant as well as destination therapy for non-transplant candidates. However, patients with LVADs are at increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding due to the device’s unique effects on hemodynamics. A major source of gastrointestinal bleeding in these patients are gastrointestinal angioectasias located within the small bowel that can only be reached with deep enteroscopy. The goal of our study was to determine the safety and efficacy of single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) in treating gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with LVADs.
Patients and methods We present a retrospective case series performed on patients with LVADs who underwent SBE to treat episodes of gastrointestinal bleeding. All procedures were performed at Emory University Hospital by a single endoscopist. Patient demographics, diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding, episodes of re-bleeding, and procedure-related complications were examined.
Results A total of 27 SBE procedures performed in 14 patients were reviewed. SBE was performed in an antegrade approach in 89 % (24/27) of cases. Deep intubation was achieved in all antegrade procedures, with the distal jejunum reached in 79 % (19/24) of cases. The diagnostic yield was 78 %. There were no reported complications associated with the procedures.
Conclusions SBE is a safe and effective modality to manage gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with LVADs.
Genetic evaluation of population structure in white marlin (Kajikia albida): the importance of statistical power
Authors: Mamoozadeh Nadya R , McDowell Jan R , Rooker Jay R , Graves John E 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe genetic basis of population structure in white marlin (Kajikia albida) is not well understood. Previous evaluation of genetic population structure in this species utilized a small number of molecular markers to survey genetic variation across opportunistically collected samples of adults, resulting in statistically significant levels of genetic differentiation for some pairwise comparisons and global levels of genetic differentiation that approached statistical significance. This study increased statistical power to improve resolution of genetic population structure in white marlin by surveying a larger number of molecular markers across sample collections of increased size, including collections from additional geographic locations and a robust collection of larvae. Increased statistical power resulted in lower levels of genetic heterogeneity compared with the previous study, and results were consistent with the presence of a single genetic stock of white marlin in the Atlantic Ocean. These results indicate that when statistical power is low, the ability to distinguish noise from a true signal of population structure is compromised. This relationship is especially important for population genetic assessments of marine fishes where genetic differentiation, if it exists, is expected to be low.
Imaging object-scene integration in visible and invisible natural scenes
Authors: Faivre Nathan , Dubois Julien , Schwartz Naama , Mudrik Liad 
Published: March 2017

AbstractIntegrating objects with their context is a key step in the interpretation of complex visual scenes. Humans can do this very quickly, yet the brain mechanisms that mediate this ability are not yet understood. Here, we used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while participants viewed visual scenes depicting a person performing an action with an object that was either congruent or incongruent with the scene. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed different activity for congruent compared to incongruent scenes in the lateral occipital complex, inferior temporal cortex, parahippocampal cortex, and prefrontal cortex, in line with existing models of scene processing. Importantly, and in contrast to previous studies, these activations could not be explained by task-induced conflicts. A secondary goal of this study was to examine whether object-context integration could occur in the absence of awareness, by comparing brain activity elicited by congruent vs. incongruent scenes that were suppressed from awareness using visual masking. We found no evidence for brain activity differentiating between congruent and incongruent invisible scenes. Overall, our results provide novel support for the roles of PHC and PFC in conscious object-context integration which cannot be explained by either low-level differences or task demands. Yet they further suggest that activity in these regions is decreased by visual masking to the point of becoming undetectable with our fMRI protocol.
Guna Fibres, Ltd.
Authors: Schill Michael J. , Bruner Robert F. , Pham Thien T. 
Published: March 2017

The chief executive of a small yarn-production company in India must resolve an unexpected cash shortage. The task for the student is to evaluate the causes of this shortage (using a completed “base-case” forecast given in the case) and assess the usefulness of various possible remedies suggested by managers.The company is unable to liquidate a seasonal working-capital loan for the requisite 30 days each year, a difficulty arising from two classic causes: secular growth of the company and declining profitability. Possible remedies include reducing inventory through more efficient transportation and warehousing, reducing credit terms to customers, switching from seasonal to level production, improving profitability, decreasing dividends, and reducing sales growth.
Investure, LLC, and Smith College
Authors: Chaplinsky Susan , Harris Robert S. , Kelly Dorothy C. 
Published: March 2017

Alice Handy, an investment professional with 30 years' experience as head of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company, has opened a new asset management firm targeted at midsize endowments and nonprofit institutions in January 2004. Her business, Investure, LLC, offered outsourced investment services to institutions with $150 million to $1 billion in assets and access to top-performing managers at lower cost than a fund of funds (FoF). Smith College, a prestigious liberal arts college with a nearly $1 billion endowment, is interested in increasing its current allocation to private equity. Handy and her partner are preparing to meet with Smith's trustees in an attempt to win Smith College as Investure's first client. The case presents three different approaches to private equity investing: direct investment through a traditional limited partnership, investment through a FoF, or investment through Investure's outsourced model. The class discussion presents an opportunity to evaluate advantages and shortcomings of each approach, introduce key terminology, and discuss the current trends in the private equity market. Students are given the cash inflows and outflows for a representative investment in a venture capital fund of the type Handy hopes to invest in on behalf of Smith College. The main analytical task requires students to evaluate the expected gross and net returns generated by the representative investment under each of the different approaches and fee structures.This case was written for an early class in courses on entrepreneurial finance, venture capital, or private equity. It can also be used in specialized courses for fund trustees interested in alternative assets.
Mars, Incorporated
Authors: Loutskina Elena , Shapovalov George 
Published: March 2017

Recommended for MBAs, this case is one of a pair of cases used in a merger negotiation exercise. It is designed to be used with “Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company” (UVA-F-1607), but it can also be used on its own. Half of the class prepares only the Wrigley case and the other half uses the Mars case.Wrigley and Mars are in the process of negotiating a merger agreement. Macroeconomic assumptions—particularly forecasting future sugar prices in an uncertain environment—and assumptions about Wrigley's value make Wrigley's future cash flows difficult to predict.
Nokia OYJ: Financing the WP Strategic Plan
Authors: Chaplinsky Susan , Marston Felicia C. 
Published: March 2017

The Nokia case provides an opportunity to explore financing alternatives in a situation of broad strategic change. The case emphasizes the difficulties of managing the financial resources of technology-based companies when they fall behind in product innovation. Nokia, the world's leading producer of mobile phones, had recently seen its market share and profits eroded by rival products such as Apple's iPhone and phones featuring Google's Android operating system. In February 2011, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop announced a strategic plan and partnership with Microsoft to have Windows serve as its primary OS for smartphones. Since that announcement, Nokia reported a net loss in earnings, followed by a downgrade of its credit rating in the summer of 2012.Analysts regard the next two years as a period of great uncertainty for the company. In January 2012, the CFO of Nokia estimates that the firm might require up to EUR4.3 billion in funding over the next two years to implement the plan under a representative downside scenario. Students are asked to evaluate the tradeoffs of raising the funds by issuing long-term debt, issuing equity, cutting dividends, or reducing cash. Given the firm's recent competitive struggles, none of the options is particularly appealing, which forces careful consideration of tradeoffs.The Nokia is appropriate for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses covering topics in capital raising, capital structure, corporate finance, and the costs of financing. A spreadsheet file of case exhibits to facilitate student preparation, teaching note, and instructional spreadsheet file are available for the case.
SmartOps Corporation: Forging Smart Alliances?
Authors: Wilcox Ronald T. , Yemen Gerry 
Published: March 2017

“After creating a market for his “new to the world” product and a significant partnership with the German-based SAP, Sridhar Tayur had an opportunity to take the partnership with SAP to another level by establishing a reseller arrangement, available to only a dozen or so of SAP's elite partners—widely considered in the enterprise software industry as a dream come true for technology entrepreneurs.
Suitable for use in MBA, EMBA, and GEMBA programs, this case offers the opportunity to focus decision making on several key marketing and sales issues. Should Tayur sign a deal with SAP, thereby handing significant control of the messaging and positioning of SmartOps to a global giant? How reliant on SAP did he really want to get? Would signing the deal make losing control of his company more likely and alienate prospects who were not fans of SAP? What would not doing the deal mean for the relationship with SAP? Would SAP go down the reseller route with a competitor? What exactly was a good reseller contract, and was it possible for a company as small as SmartOps to make the agreement a win-win?”
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
Authors: Loutskina Elena , Shapovalov George 
Published: March 2017

Recommended for MBAs, this case is one of a pair of cases used in a merger negotiation exercise. It is designed to be used with “Mars, Incorporated” (UVA-F-1612), but it can also be used on its own. Half of the class prepares only the Wrigley case and the other half uses the Mars case.Wrigley and Mars are in the process of negotiating a merger agreement. Macroeconomic assumptions—particularly forecasting future sugar prices in an uncertain environment—and assumptions about Wrigley's value make Wrigley's future cash flows difficult to predict.
A Tale of Two Hedge Funds: Magnetar and Peloton
Authors: Stowell David P. , Carlson Stephen 
Published: March 2017

Hedge fund Magnetar Capital had returned 25 percent in 2007 with a strategy that posed significantly lower risk to investors than the S&P 500. Magnetar had made more than $1 billion in profit by noticing that the equity tranche of CDOs and CDO-derivative instruments were relatively mispriced. It took advantage of this anomaly by purchasing CDO equity and buying credit default swap (CDS) protection on tranches that were considered less risky. Now it was the job of Alec Litowitz, chairman and chief investment officer, to provide guidance to his team as they planned next year's strategy, evaluate and prioritize their ideas, and generate new ideas of his own. An ocean away, Ron Beller was contemplating some very different issues. Beller's firm, Peloton Partners LLP, had been one of the top-performing hedge funds in 2007, returning in excess of 80 percent. In late January 2008 Beller accepted two prestigious awards at a black-tie EuroHedge ceremony. A month later, his firm was bankrupt. Beller shorted the U.S. housing market before the subprime crisis hit, and was paid handsomely for his bet. After the crisis began, however, he believed that prices for highly rated mortgage securities were being unfairly punished, so he decided to go long AAA-rated securities backed by Alt-A mortgage loans (between prime and subprime), levered 9x. The trade moved against Peloton in a big way on February 14, 2008, causing $17 billion in losses and closure of the firm.This case analyzes the strategies of the two hedge funds, focusing on how money can be made and lost during a financial crisis. The role of investment banks as lenders to hedge funds such as Peloton is explored, as well as characteristics of the CDO market and an array of both mortgage-related and credit protection-related instruments that were actively used (for better or worse) by hedge funds during the credit crisis of 2007 and 2008.
Arbor City Community Foundation (A): The Foundation
Authors: Schmedders Karl , Walker Russell , Stritch Michael 
Published: March 2017

The Arbor City Community Foundation (ACCF) was a medium-sized endowment established in Illinois in the late 1970s through the hard work of several local families. The vision of the ACCF was to be a comprehensive center for philanthropy in the greater Arbor City region. ACCF had a fund balance (known collectively as “the fund”) of just under $240 million. The ACCF board of trustees had appointed a committee to oversee investment decisions relating to the foundation assets. The investment committee, under the guidance of the board, pursued an active risk-management policy for the fund. The committee members were primarily concerned with the volatility and distribution of portfolio returns. They relied on the value-at-risk (VaR) methodology as a measurement of the risk of both short- and mid-term investment losses. The questions in Part (A) of the case direct the students to analyze the risk inherent in both one particular asset and the entire ACCF portfolio. For this analysis the students need to calculate daily VaR and monthly VaR values and interpret these figures in the context of ACCF's risk management. In Part (B) the foundation receives a major donation. As a result, the risk inherent in its portfolio changes considerably. The students are asked to evaluate the risk of the fund's new portfolio and to perform a portfolio rebalancing analysis.Understanding the concept of value at risk (VaR); Calculating daily and monthly VaR by two different methods, the historical and the parametric approach; Interpreting the results of VaR calculations; Understanding the role of diversification for managing risk; Evaluating the impact of portfolio rebalancing on the overall risk of a portfolio.
Argentina Currency Peg and Fiscal Reforms (A)
Authors: Al-Najjar Nabil , Galperti Simone 
Published: March 2017

Case (A) starts by reviewing several attempts made by three consecutive Argentine governments between 1973 and 1989 to fight the three-digit inflation rates that had troubled the country since the end of World War II. Next, the implementation of the currency peg under the broad umbrella called the “convertibility plan” is discussed and its rationale is explained in connection with the Central Bank's role in controlling inflation and market expectations. The case then outlines the fiscal reforms introduced in the early 1990s concerning public finance, market regulation, and social security. Finally, the outcomes of these policies are briefly summarized.Argentina's currency collapse provides a vivid illustration of the perils of government control on exchange rates in an export-dependent economy. Students will learn and understand (1) the role of herding and expectations in currency collapse; (2) the interdependence of fiscal and monetary policies; (3) monetary base management and its effects on inflation; (4) the advantages and drawbacks of currency pegs; (5) the story of the late 1990s financial and currency crises.
Ariba Implementation at MED-X: Managing Earned Value
Authors: Jeffery Mark , Norton Joseph F. , Gershbeyn Alex , Yung Derek 
Published: March 2017

The Ariba Implementation at MED-X case is designed to teach students how to analyze a program that is experiencing problems and recommend solutions. Specifically, the case introduces students to earned value analysis and program oversight for an e-procurement technology program. The case centers on MED-X's need to quickly discover why the company's e-procurement implementation project was not going according to plan. Once a cause has been discovered, students will need to make a recommendation to fix the problem. Data for the simplified program, consisting of two concurrent projects, is given to students, who should in turn analyze the project using earned value analysis. The case is an easy introduction to program management and oversight for executives and MBA students, and teaches the essentials of earned value project management.Students will learn how to control and act in oversight of large complex programs, as well as how to apply earned value metrics to analyze a simplified program consisting of two projects. Analyzing the project enables students to learn the strengths and pitfalls of the earned value approach. From a management decision perspective, the case gives students the tools to succinctly answer the questions: How much will the project cost? How long will it take? What is wrong with the project?
Back to School: Real Estate Development of Off-Campus Student Housing
Authors: Furfine Craig 
Published: March 2017

Christopher Lenard and his longtime friend, Kimberly Slater, are exploring the idea of developing a student-housing complex near the University of Wisconsin, Madison, by replicating Slater's highly successful, similar development near the University of Florida. Madison seemed to present attractive market and demographic conditions for investment in student housing in the summer of 2012. But before committing a large share of his personal wealth to the project, Lenard needs to conduct a more careful analysis of its potential risks and returns. By putting themselves into the shoes of a budding real estate entrepreneur, students will evaluate both the merits and pitfalls of various approaches to the financial analysis of real estate development projects.After reading and analyzing the case, students will be able to:

Evaluate the fundamental economic determinants driving the potential gains to real estate development
Explain the merits and deficiencies of tools that can be applied to the financial analysis of real estate development projects, including financial feasibility; developing to a yield on cost; net present value analysis; and real options.
Balancing Access with Accuracy for Infant HIV Diagnostics in Tanzania (A)
Authors: Palamountain Kara , Waikar Sachin , Hanson Andrea , Nelson Katherine 
Published: March 2017

The Global Health Initiative (GHI) is a tripartite collaboration among Northwestern University, non-profit donors, and commercial diagnostics companies. GHI attempts to bridge the gap between the market for sophisticated medical diagnostics equipment in wealthy nations and the need for point-of-care diagnostics in resource limited settings. In 2006 GHI narrowed its focus to HIV diagnostics for underserved nations. The case examines the accuracy-access tradeoff related to the roll-out of infant HIV diagnostics in Tanzania. Tanzania has a prevalent HIV/AIDS problem, particularly in children. As of 2007, Tanzania had an estimated 140,000 children infected with HIV. Existing lab-based diagnostic equipment was either inaccurate for use in infants or required highly skilled health workers. Tanzania's limited infrastructure also forced healthcare providers to choose between providing advanced care to a minority of the population and offering minimal care to the majority with poor access. A Kellogg MBA student research team performed more than thirty in-country interviews to collect data on stakeholder perceptions of three infant test concepts: the strip test, the squeeze test, and the filter paper test. Across the three tests, access decreased as accuracy increased---rural labs could not find or afford health workers skilled enough to conduct the test. In general, interviewees closely affiliated with the government preferred accuracy over access. In contrast, private health facilities had to follow fewer regulations and preferred access over accuracy. The case focuses on the decisions facing Kara Palamountain, the executive director of GHI, in her roll-out recommendations for infant HIV tests in Tanzania. It examines key factors of working in a developing country, including the need to operate in the absence of sufficient market research, balance the competing agendas of different stakeholders, and mitigate external risks such as major international funding.This case was written to be used as a teaching case for students unfamiliar with how to approach and analyze a typical business school case. Unlike many cases used in specific classroom settings, this case is intended to be broad enough that any single student will not have a significant advantage because of his or her background. Moreover, the case is designed to guide students' thinking in a certain direction, using open-ended and more focused discussion questions provided at the case's end.
Bel Brand: The Laughing Cow Challenge
Authors: Rucker Derek , Dubois David 
Published: March 2017

This case features Bel-Brand's efforts to position its flagship brand The Laughing Cow in the United States. The challenges in this case are twofold. First, choose a viable position for a brand after a period of high growth following the South Beach Craze. The difficulty here is that the initial driver of the brand's position, the South Beach Craze, an environmental factor, is dwindling and is not sustainable. Second, the brand was receiving pressure from global stakeholders to try to unify the positioning in the United States with the global brand positioning. These are both challenges that were faced by the marketing team and raised in the case.This case can be used to teach the following topics: 1) Developing a sustainable positioning. This case gives students the valuable experience of making a positioning choice and supporting the rationale for the positioning chosen. Furthermore, it demonstrates how a brand maintained a position after the initial support/argument for that position has dwindled or disappeared. 2) Managing global versus local positioning. The case also showcases a real life example of where positioning in the United States was extremely misaligned from the global positioning of the brand, and how the brand responded to this. 3) Write a positioning statement. One important exercise that students could be asked to do is write a positioning statement and become more familiar with concepts such as point-of-parity (POP), point-of-difference (POD), and reason-to-believe (RTB).