Gravitation of Blockchain in Shared Services:The Next Phase of Service Delivery Strategy

A Blockchain is an immutable, tamper-proof, shared ledger of state changes of a digital asset. It is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value. This digital ledger is managed via a distributed network across many nodes that can verify and confirm those transactions through consensus. The implications of the technology are far-reaching but there are conditions that should be met in order for Blockchain to be a viable solution. The purposes of this research are to (1) explore the current Blockchain use cases in Shared Services (2) understand the value created by Blockchain in Supply Chain Management and (3) study the tactical challenges in adopting a Blockchain strategy in Shared Services. In addition to a literature review conducted, we conducted in-depth interviews with selected Shared Services Leaders and experts. Results of our research indicate that Blockchain technology can deliver on expectations and implementation in Shared Services organizations will require simple steps. This study provides the data necessary for executives to build a business case for applying Blockchain technology in Shared Services and investigates the potential that Blockchain has to revolutionize industry and deliver gains in speed, security, transparency, traceability and accountability for a wide range of business processes.</p

The Interaction of Relativization and Noun Incorporation in Southern Hokkaidō Ainu

This paper focuses on relativization in Southern Hokkaidō Ainu. Specifically, evidential expressions constitute the scope of this study since within this semantic domain a morphosyntactic layout reminiscent of internally-headed relative clauses (IHRCs) is found. Moreover, the structure of some evidential expressions suggests that what gives rise to an IHRC in those instances is classificatory noun incorporation (CNI). Following from past studies on Ainu, where IHRCs and CNI are never discussed, and with reference to cross-linguistic approaches to relativization and incorporation, this study addresses the interaction of these two processes in Southern Hokkaidō Ainu and suggests their reconsideration

Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders

Genetic influences on psychiatric disorders transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting substantial pleiotropy of contributing loci. However, the nature and mechanisms of these pleiotropic effects remain unclear. We performed analyses of 232,964 cases and 494,162 controls from genome-wide studies of anorexia nervosa, attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and Tourette syndrome. Genetic correlation analyses revealed a meaningful structure within the eight disorders, identifying three groups of inter-related disorders. Meta-analysis across these eight disorders detected 109 loci associated with at least two psychiatric disorders, including 23 loci with pleiotropic effects on four or more disorders and 11 loci with antagonistic effects on multiple disorders. The pleiotropic loci are located within genes that show heightened expression in the brain throughout the lifespan, beginning prenatally in the second trimester, and play prominent roles in neurodevelopmental processes. These findings have important implications for psychiatric nosology, drug development, and risk prediction.Peer reviewe

A genetic investigation of sex bias in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) shows substantial heritability and is 2-7 times more common in males than females. We examined two putative genetic mechanisms underlying this sex bias: sex-specific heterogeneity and higher burden of risk in female cases. Methods We analyzed genome-wide autosomal common variants from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and iPSYCH Project (20,183 cases, 35,191 controls) and Swedish populationregister data (N=77,905 cases, N=1,874,637 population controls). Results Genetic correlation analyses using two methods suggested near complete sharing of common variant effects across sexes, with rg estimates close to 1. Analyses of population data, however, indicated that females with ADHD may be at especially high risk of certain comorbid developmental conditions (i.e. autism spectrum disorder and congenital malformations), potentially indicating some clinical and etiological heterogeneity. Polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis did not support a higher burden of ADHD common risk variants in female cases (OR=1.02 [0.98-1.06], p=0.28). In contrast, epidemiological sibling analyses revealed that the siblings of females with ADHD are at higher familial risk of ADHD than siblings of affected males (OR=1.14, [95% CI: 1.11-1.18], p=1.5E-15). Conclusions Overall, this study supports a greater familial burden of risk in females with ADHD and some clinical and etiological heterogeneity, based on epidemiological analyses. However, molecular genetic analyses suggest that autosomal common variants largely do not explain the sex bias in ADHD prevalence

Centrality evolution of the charged-particle pseudorapidity density over a broad pseudorapidity range in Pb-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=2.76TeV

Peer reviewe

Automation of knowledge-based shared services and centers of expertise

Automation of Knowledge-Based services is the natural evolution of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), fueled by new technologies, often categorized as Cognitive Automation (CA). The purposes of this research are to (1) explore the Expertise Shared Services and Centers of Expertise functions where automation of knowledge-based processes is most suitable and (2) understand the value drivers and primary tactical challenges in adopting a strategy for automating Knowledge-Based expertise services. In addition to a literature review conducted, we conducted in-depth interviews with selected executives and experts. We developed case studies to better understand how Software Bots can be deployed for automating Knowledge-Based Expertise Services in organizations when they transition to automation of knowledge-driven processes. Results of our research indicate that the majority of executives and experts are aware of the need for automating Knowledge-Based Expertise Services but most remain unclear regarding its value or how to invest in adoption of this new trend

Stromal Claudin14-heterozygosity, but not deletion, increases tumour blood leakage without affecting tumour growth

The maintenance of endothelial cell-cell junctions is vital for the control of blood vessel leakage and is known to be important in the growth and maturation of new blood vessels during angiogenesis. Here we have investigated the role of a tight junction molecule, Claudin 14, in tumour blood vessel leakage, angiogenesis and tumour growth. Using syngeneic tumour models our results showed that genetic ablation of Claudin 14 was not sufficient to affect tumour blood vessel morphology or function. However, and surprisingly, Claudin 14-heterozygous mice displayed several blood vessel-related phenotypes including: disruption of ZO-1-positive cell-cell junctions in tumour blood vessels; abnormal distribution of basement membrane laminin around tumour blood vessels; increased intratumoural leakage and decreased intratumoural hypoxia. Additionally, although total numbers of tumour blood vessels were increased in Claudin 14-heterozygous mice, and in VEGF-stimulated angiogenesis ex vivo, the number of lumenated vessels was not changed between genotypes and this correlated with no difference in syngeneic tumour growth between wild-type, Claudin 14-heterozygous and Claudin 14-null mice. Lastly, Claudin 14-heterozygosity, but not complete deficiency, also enhanced endothelial cell proliferation significantly. These data establish a new role for Claudin 14 in the regulation of tumour blood vessel integrity and angiogenesis that is evident only after the partial loss of this molecule in Claudin 14-heterozyous mice but not in Claudin 14-null mice