Coopetition for innovative freight transport solutions in Swedish retail

Many companies today strive to reduce their environmental impact. A potential strategy to reduce CO2 emissions is horizontal cooperation between actors on the same level of different supply chains. The strategy opens for cooperation, in for example such non-core activities as distribution and transportation, between companies with a competitive relationship. Larger transport networks increase the possibility to combine optimal routes and consolidate goods. There is also an opportunity for joint facilities which further decrease costs and possibly reduce the total driven kilometres due to more direct routes. This master thesis will analyse participating companies’ transport networks and identify collaboration synergies. This to be able to investigate the effects on costs and the environmental impact that horizontal cooperation has. In order to quantify these effects, a constructed case has been built up consisting of two case companies. The case companies are the two largest grocery retailing companies in Sweden - ICA and Coop, with a total market share of around 70%. The purpose of this master thesis has been to test how a dyadic horizontal distribution cooperation effects the CO2 emissions and costs for large grocery retailers in Sweden. The transportation networks for each company have been built in the Supply Chain Guru software. The networks have then been combined with joint distribution terminals to investigate how shared distribution facilities influence the total cost and CO2 emissions. Given the underlying assumptions in the models, the results show a potential to reduce distribution costs by 6.2% and reduce CO2 emissions by 1%. These results show a great potential for horizontal cooperation and the potential could increase even more when adding more aspects such as joint distribution planning and supplier collections. The analysis requires a state-of-the-art supply chain design software and a software analysis has been carried out. The software is needed to be able to build up large network models and see how changes in the supply chain design affects the environmental impact and the costs. Out of 13 software, six software was possible candidates and out of those two where thoroughly tested. The software analysis showed that out of these two, LLamasoft Supply Chain Guru was the most suitable software and has been used in the analysis. Horizontal cooperation opens new innovative ways for companies to act and cut logistics costs and reduce the environmental impact. This master thesis’ purpose was to test how a dyadic horizontal cooperation affect CO2 emissions and logistics cost and shows that horizontal cooperation has a large potential for the two largest companies in the Swedish retail industry. This should invite to more research in the area, including more companies and other industries to truly investigate the vast possibilities of horizontal cooperation

Closer Starfish: A research project investigating freight distribution cooperation opportunities in Sweden

Horizontal cooperation, when companies on the same level in the supply chain cooperate, is a concept that has received increased focus during the last decade and has been examined in both the Benelux and the UK. In Sweden, the horizontal cooperation has only been examined on a smaller scale in remote areas. We have carried out a quantitative case study, examining horizontal cooperation at the network level. Seven companies--two retailers (Coop and ICA) and five suppliers (Findus, Arvid Nordquist, Löfbergs Lila, Cloetta, and KåKå) participated in the study and have contributed transportation and cost data. The analysis has tested various coalitions of the participating companies and the study shows, in line with previous research, that companies have the ability to reduce their transport costs. Cooperation between a large actor and one or more smaller companies shows a potential cost savings between 1 and 10%. Cooperations between the smaller actors indicate potential cost savings of more than 20%. However, there are uncertainties in the data concerning the smaller companies and therefore, further analysis is needed in order to investigate how these potentials are to be realized. Closer Starfish shows that there is a large potential to reduce costs if companies combine horizontal and vertical cooperation. The companies have a great possibility to make their transports more efficient by cooperating outside of their own supply chain. In order to maximize the likelihood of this possibility it is important to further study in more depth coalitions with both horizontal and vertical cooperation in order to investigate how to realize the identified potential in practice

Movement correction by object recognition-based anatomical tracking in functional magnetic resonance urography (fMRU): Proof of principle

Breathing motion is a challenge to analysis of imaging time series in many settings, especially in thorax and abdomen. We investigated in a software phantom as proof of principle, whether object recognition based tracking is capable of intensity-time-curve analysis. Images-time-series (no respiratory gating) of 100 kidneys were artificially generated (Matlab, TheMathworks, Natick, NA, USA). Respiratory movement was implemented by a sinusoidal coordinate shift with an amplitude of 3 cm and frequency of about 6 min-1. Renal intensity changes after contrast application were modeled using gamma functions for three anatomical compartments: cortex, pyramids and renal pelvis. Movement correction was carried out for half of the study population. Intensity-time-curves were extracted using automatically placed regions of interest relative to central coordinates of the kidney on the first image. Intensity changes over time extracted from the ROIs were subtracted from known intensity changes of the software model. Differences were assessed using Wilcox-Signed-Rank test for 50 kidneys with and 50 without movement correction. We used Bonferroni method to correct for multiple testing. Mean sum of differences between predicted and observed intensities across all kidneys and compartments was 0,072 with and 7,3 without movement correction. Significant difference between observation and model was not seen in any compartments of the tracking group (mean z-score: -0.8), whereas there was in 66 compartments in the non-tracking group (mean z-score: -3.2), signifying good agreement between theoretical model and observed intensity changes with object recognition-based tracking, and suboptimal agreement in the non-tracking-group due to movement artifacts. We conclude that object-recognition based anatomical tracking is feasible in fMRU as an alternative or addition to respiration gating. This may allow a higher temporal resolution of these studies in the future

Private Equity Firms as Gatekeepers

Notwithstanding the considerable attention private equity receives, there continues to be substantial confusion about what private equity does and whether this creates value. Calls for more aggressive regulation of the industry reflect a skeptical view of private equity as—at best—a zero-sum game, in which profits are generated only at the expense of other constituencies. The standard defense of private equity points to its corporate governance advantages as a source of value. This Article identifies an overlooked and increasingly important way in which private equity creates value: private equity firms act as gatekeepers in the debt markets. As repeat players, private equity firms use their reputations with creditors to mitigate the problems of borrower adverse selection and moral hazard in the companies that they manage, thereby reducing creditors’ costs of lending to these companies. Private equity-owned companies are thus able to borrow money on more favorable terms than standalone companies, all else being equal. By acting as gatekeepers, private equity firms render the debt markets more efficient and provide their portfolio companies with an increasingly valuable borrowing advantage. Ironically, then, debt may well be private equity’s greatest asset

A scientific perspective on reducing ski-snow friction to improve performance in Olympic Cross-Country Skiing, the Biathlon and Nordic Combined

Of the medals awarded at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, 24% were for events involving cross-country skiing, the biathlon and Nordic combined. Although much research has focused on physiological and biomechanical characteristics that determine success in these sports, considerably less is yet known about the resistive forces. Here, we specifically describe what is presently known about ski-snow friction, one of the major resistive forces. Today, elite ski races take place on natural and/or machine-made snow. Prior to each race, several pairs of skis with different grinding and waxing of the base are tested against one another with respect to key parameters, such as how rapidly and for how long the ski glides, which is dependent on ski-snow friction. This friction arises from a combination of factors, including compaction, plowing, adhesion, viscous drag, and water bridging, as well as contaminants and dirt on the surface of and within the snow. In this context the stiffness of the ski, shape of its camber, and material composition and topography of the base exert a major influence. An understanding of the interactions between these factors, in combination with information concerning the temperature and humidity of both the air and snow, as well as the nature of the snow, provides a basis for designing specific strategies to minimize ski-snow friction. In conclusion, although performance on "narrow skis" has improved considerably in recent decades, future insights into how best to reduce ski-snow friction offer great promise for even further advances

Ungulate use of an at-grade fauna passage and roadside animal detection system: A pilot study from Southern Sweden

Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) cost millions of euros each year in loss of life and damages. Wildlife crossing structures and fencing are commonly implemented mitigation strategies to reduce WVC and increase landscape connectivity for wildlife. Typically, crossing structures are over- or under-pass structures that allow animals to safely cross the road, while separating them from the road and traffic. An alternative strategy could be an at-grade fauna passage coupled with a Roadside Animal Detection System (RADS). At-grade fauna passages are designated locations where a gap in fencing allows animals to cross over the road, while RADS alert drivers of animals at the upcoming passage, so that they can adjust their driving behaviour accordingly and avoid collisions. In this pilot study, we investigated the use of one at-grade fauna passage by roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), red deer (Cervus elaphus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) in southern Sweden, and compared changes in the number of WVCs before, during and after the construction of the passage. We collected a total of 326 wildlife crossings from 722 individuals over 1 year of monitoring (24 January 2020-24 January 2021). We found that crossing events tended to be dominated by the time animals spent in the roadside verge from which they approached the at-grade fauna passage, particularly for roe deer that spent a lot of time browsing in the roadside verge during dusk. We also found that animals spent longer in the passage if vehicles were present. In our 1 year of surveys, we only recorded three accidents, and when comparing the annual collision statistics before, during, and after construction of the at-grade fauna passage, we demonstrated an overall reduction in collisions by 66%. While our pilot only evaluates a single site, it does provide promising preliminary results that suggest that at-grade fauna passages can help in efforts to reduce collisions, while maintaining connectivity over medium-sized roads for large ungulates

Ambulance clinicians’ attitudes to older patients’ self‐determination when the patient has impaired decision‐making ability: A Delphi study

Abstract: Objective: The proportion of older people is increasing and reflects in the demand on ambulance services (AS). Patients can be more vulnerable and increasingly dependent, especially when their decision‐making ability is impaired. Self‐determination in older people has a positive relation to quality of life and can raise ethical conflicts in AS. Hence, the aim of this study was to empirically explore attitudes among Swedish ambulance clinicians (ACs) regarding older patients’ self‐determination in cases where patients have impaired decision‐making ability, and who are in urgent need of care. Materials and methods: An explorative design was adopted. A Delphi technique was used, comprising four rounds, involving a group (N = 31) of prehospital emergency nurses (n = 14), registered nurses (n = 10) and emergency medical technicians (n = 7). Focus group conversations (Round 1) and questionnaires (Rounds 2–4) generated data. Round 1 was analysed using manifest content analysis, which ultimately resulted in the creation of discrete items. Each item was rated with a five‐point Likert scale together with free‐text answers. Consensus (≥70%) was calculated by trichotomising the Likert scale. Results: Round 1 identified 108 items which were divided into four categories: (1) attitudes regarding the patient (n = 35), (2) attitudes regarding the patient relationship (n = 8), (3) attitudes regarding oneself and one's colleagues (n = 45), and (4) attitudes regarding other involved factors (n = 20). In Rounds 2–4, one item was identified in the free text from Round 2, generating a total of 109 items. After four rounds, 72 items (62%) reached consensus. Conclusions: The findings highlight the complexity of ACs’ attitudes towards older patients’ self‐determination. The respect of older patients’ self‐determination is challenged by the patient, other healthcare personnel, significant others and/or colleagues. The study provided a unique opportunity to explore self‐determination and shared decision‐making. AS have to provide continued ethical training, for example to increase the use of simulation‐based training or moral case deliberations in order to strengthen the ACs’ moral abilities within their professional practice. Implications for practice: Ambulance services must develop opportunities to provide continued training within this topic. One option would be to increase the use of simulation‐based training, focusing on ethical aspects of the care. Another option might be to facilitate moral case deliberations to strengthen the ACs’ abilities to manage these issues while being able to share experiences with peers. These types of interventions should illuminate the importance of the topic for the individual AC, which, in turn, may strengthen and develop the caring abilities within an integrated care team.Peer reviewe

The Anisotropic Distribution of M 31 Satellite Galaxies: A Polar Great Plane of Early-Type Companions

The highly anisotropic distribution and apparent alignment of the Galactic satellites in polar great planes begs the question how common such distributions are. The satellite system of M31 is the only nearby system for which we currently have sufficiently accurate distances to study the three-dimensional satellite distribution. We present the spatial distribution of the 15 presently known M31 companions in a coordinate system centered on M31 and aligned with its disk. Through a detailed statistical analysis we show that the full satellite sample describes a plane that is inclined by -56 deg with respect to the poles of M31 and that has an r.m.s. height of 100 kpc. With 88% the statistical significance of this plane is low and it is unlikely to have a physical meaning. The great stellar stream found near Andromeda is inclined to this plane by 7 deg. There is little evidence for a Holmberg effect. If we confine our analysis to early-type dwarfs, we find a best-fit polar plane within 5 deg to 7 deg from the pole of M31. This polar great plane has a statistical significance of 99.3% and includes all dSphs (except for And II), M32, NGC 147, and PegDIG. The r.m.s. distance of these galaxies from the polar plane is 16 kpc. The nearby spiral M33 has a distance of only about 3 kpc from this plane, which points toward the M81 group. We discuss the anisotropic distribution of M31's early-type companions in the framework of three scenarios, namely as remnants of the break-up of a larger progenitor, as tracer of a prolate dark matter halo, and as tracer of collapse along large-scale filaments. (Abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Development of a patient-oriented navigation model for patients with lung cancer and stroke in Germany

Background: The concept of patient navigation was first established in the USA to support vulnerable patient groups in receiving timely and comprehensive access to cancer care. It has recently gained increasing interest in Germany to support patients with chronic diseases in a fragmented healthcare system. The aim of this paper is to present the development of such a model adapted to the German context based on the results of mixed-methods studies investigating the need for and barriers to patient-oriented care. Methods: In a process adapted from Delphi rounds, we conducted regular structured workshops with investigators of the project to discuss results of their studies and identify content and structure of the model based on the data. Workshop discussions were structured along seven core components of a navigation model including target patient groups, navigator tasks, occupational background and education of navigators, and patient-navigator interaction mode. Results: Using an approach based on empirical data of current care practices with special focus on patients' perspectives, we developed a patient-oriented navigation model for patients who have experienced stroke and lung cancer in the German healthcare context. Patients without personal social support were viewed as struggling most with the healthcare system, as well as multimorbid and elderly patients. Navigators should serve as a longer-term contact person with a flexible contact mode and timing based on the individual situation and preferences of patients. Navigator tasks include the provision of administrative and organizational support as well as referral and guidance to available resources and beneficial health programs with special forms of knowledge. Implementation of the navigator should be flexibly located to ensure a reliable outreach to vulnerable patients for first contact in settings like specialized in-patient and out-patient settings, while navigation itself focuses on care coordination in the out-patient setting. Conclusion: Flexibility of navigator tasks needed to be a core characteristic of a navigation model to be perceived as supportive from patients' perspectives. In a subsequent feasibility study, an intervention based on the model will be evaluated according to its acceptance, demand, and practicality