671 research outputs found
Operational Capabilities: The Secret Ingredient
We develop a theoretical definition of operational capabilities, based on the strategic
management and operations management literature, and differentiate this construct from
the related constructs of resources and operational practices, drawing upon the resourcebased view of the firm as our foundation. We illustrate the key features of operational capabilities using the illustration of a restaurant kitchen. Because the traits of operational capabilities are distinct, they create a barrier to imitation, making them a potential source of competitive advantage. However, operational capabilities are particularly challenging to measure, because they emerge gradually and are tacit, embedded, and manifested differently across firms. In solving this measurement conundrum, we draw upon similar situations experienced by Schein (2004) and Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) in operationalizing organizational culture and dynamic capabilities. A taxonomy of six emergent operational capabilities is developed: operational improvement, operational innovation, operational customization, operational cooperation, operational responsiveness, and operational reconfiguration. A set of measurement scales is developed, in order to measure each of the operational capabilities, and validated using two different datasets. This allows replication of the psychometric properties of the multi-item scales and helps to ensure the validity of the resulting measures
Interspecies hybridization on DNA resequencing microarrays: efficiency of sequence recovery and accuracy of SNP detection in human, ape, and codfish mitochondrial DNA genomes sequenced on a human-specific MitoChip
Background: Iterative DNA "resequencing" on oligonucleotide microarrays offers a high-throughput
method to measure intraspecific biodiversity, one that is especially suited to SNP-dense gene regions such
as vertebrate mitochondrial (mtDNA) genomes. However, costs of single-species design and microarray
fabrication are prohibitive. A cost-effective, multi-species strategy is to hybridize experimental DNAs from
diverse species to a common microarray that is tiled with oligonucleotide sets from multiple, homologous
reference genomes. Such a strategy requires that cross-hybridization between the experimental DNAs
and reference oligos from the different species not interfere with the accurate recovery of species-specific
data. To determine the pattern and limits of such interspecific hybridization, we compared the efficiency
of sequence recovery and accuracy of SNP identification by a 15,452-base human-specific microarray
challenged with human, chimpanzee, gorilla, and codfish mtDNA genomes.
Results: In the human genome, 99.67% of the sequence was recovered with 100.0% accuracy. Accuracy
of SNP identification declines log-linearly with sequence divergence from the reference, from 0.067 to
0.247 errors per SNP in the chimpanzee and gorilla genomes, respectively. Efficiency of sequence recovery
declines with the increase of the number of interspecific SNPs in the 25b interval tiled by the reference
oligonucleotides. In the gorilla genome, which differs from the human reference by 10%, and in which 46%
of these 25b regions contain 3 or more SNP differences from the reference, only 88% of the sequence is
recoverable. In the codfish genome, which differs from the reference by > 30%, less than 4% of the
sequence is recoverable, in short islands ≥ 12b that are conserved between primates and fish.
Conclusion: Experimental DNAs bind inefficiently to homologous reference oligonucleotide sets on a resequencing
microarray when their sequences differ by more than a few percent. The data suggest that
interspecific cross-hybridization will not interfere with the accurate recovery of species-specific data from
multispecies microarrays, provided that the species' DNA sequences differ by > 20% (mean of 5b
differences per 25b oligo). Recovery of DNA sequence data from multiple, distantly-related species on a
single multiplex gene chip should be a practical, highly-parallel method for investigating genomic
biodiversity
A Floristic Survey of Selected Sites in the Loup River Valley, Nance County, Nebraska
The Loup River Valley of Nebraska contains natural, undisturbed wet meadows with significant plant diversity. Even though these sites are infrequent and are often intermixed with heavily grazed pastures or cultivated fields, they support numerous plant and animal species that do not occur elsewhere. We surveyed three study sites (an ungrazed wet meadow; a grazed wet meadow; and a riparian area) that totaled approximately 68.8 ha during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. We compiled an annotated vascular plants checklist for the study area that included 244 plant species of which about 49% (119) were new county records. The mean coefficient of conservatism (Cm) values for the ungrazed meadow, the grazed meadow, and the riparian site were 3.54, 3.07, and 3.35 respectively. The floristic quality indices (FQI) were 37.96 for the hay meadow, 28.14 for the grazed meadow, and 31.07 for the riparian site. Jaccard’s Index of Similarity (31.4%) indicated that the grazed and ungrazed meadows had a high degree of community similarity with each containing ~ 80% native species. Our study substantiates the significance of Nance County to the species richness and flora of Nebraska and the Great Plains. Future research and reconnaissance should include the identification and study of additional natural meadows in the lower Loup River Valley
Some remarks on semi-classical analysis on two-step Nilmanifolds
In this paper, we present recent results about the developement of a semiclassical approach in the setting of nilpotent Lie groups and nilmanifolds. We focus on two-step nilmanifolds and exhibit some properties of the weak limits of sequence of densities associated with eigenfunctions of a sub-Laplacian. We emphasize the influence of the geometry on these properties
The best of times and the worst of times: empirical operations and supply chain management research
We assess the current state of empirical research in operations and supply chain management (OSM), using Dickens’ contrast between the best of times and the worst of times as a frame. The best of times refers to the future that empirical OSM research is now entering, with exciting opportunities available using big data and other new data sources, new empirical approaches and analytical techniques and innovative tools for developing theory. These are well aligned with new research questions related to the digital economy, Industry 4.0, the impact of the millennial generation as consumers, social media, 3D printing, etc. However, we also explore how it is the worst of times, focusing on the challenges and problems that plague empirical OSM research. Our goal is to show how OSM researchers can learn from the worst of times, in order to be poised to take advantage of the best of times. We introduce the research diamond as a vehicle for emphasising the importance of a balanced research perspective that treats the research problem, theory, data collection and data analysis as equally important, requiring alignment between them. By learning and addressing the issues in this period of the best of times and the worst of times, we can take advantage of the opportunities facing our field to generate research that is balanced, insightful, rigorous, relevant, impactful and interesting
The Stealth Biplane: a Proposal in Response to a Low Reynolds Number Station Keeping Mission
The Stealth Biplane is conceived and constructed to serve as a remotely piloted vehicle designed to navigate a low-level figure-eight course at a target Reynolds number of 100,000. This flight vehicle will combine the latest in lightweight radio controlled hardware in conjunction with current low Reynolds number aerodynamic research to demonstrate feasible operation in a variety of applications. These potential low Reynolds number applications include high altitude atmospheric sampling, search and rescue, and even law enforcement. Design specs and fabrication technique are discussed
A high enthaply [i.e., enthalpy] test facility powered by a gaseous core reactor.
This thesis document was issued under the authority of another institution, not NPS. At the time it was written, a copy was added to the NPS Library collection for reasons not now known. It has been included in the digital archive for its historical value to NPS. Not believed to be a CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) title.The feasibility of utilizing a gaseous core nuclear reactor to provide high enthalpy, high pressure gas flow for simulating atmospheric re-entry conditions was invesÂtigated. The test facility uses a mixture of nitrogen and uranium in a closed cycle with no attempt to contain the uranium fuel within the core. The primary purpose of the facility is to provide high enthalpy, high shear flows for testing re-entry materials and shapes.
Investigated in this study were the effects of the nitrogen-uranium mixture on reactor criticality, nuclear contamination of the test model, protection of the reactor core and nozzle structure from imposed heat loads and operating limitations of the test facility."Acknowledgement is made to the Department of the Navy, and to the United States Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, who made this work possible."http://www.archive.org/details/highenthaplyieen00flynLieutenant, United States Nav
Correlation of Crystal Quality and Extreme Magnetoresistance of WTe
High quality single crystals of WTe were grown using a Te flux followed
by a cleaning step involving self-vapor transport. The method is reproducible
and yields consistently higher quality single crystals than are typically
obtained via halide assisted vapor transport methods. Magnetoresistance
(MR)values at 9 Tesla and 2 Kelvin as high as 1.75 million \%, nearly an order
of magnitude higher than previously reported for this material, were obtained
on crystals with residual resistivity ratio (RRR) of approximately 1250. The MR
follows a near B law (B = 1.95(1)) and, assuming a semiclassical model, the
average carrier mobility for the highest quality crystal was found to be
~167,000 cm/Vs at 2 K. A correlation of RRR, MR ratio and average carrier
mobility () is found with the cooling rate during the flux growth.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
- …