Impact of artificial intelligence adoption on online returns policies

The shift to e-commerce has led to an astonishing increase in online sales for retailers. However, the number of returns made on online purchases is also increasing and have a profound impact on retailers’ operations and profit. Hence, retailers need to balance between minimizing and allowing product returns. This study examines an offline showroom versus an artificial intelligence (AI) online virtual-reality webroom and how the settings affect customers’ purchase and retailers’ return decisions. A case study is used to illustrate the AI application. Our results show that adopting artificial intelligence helps sellers to make better returns policies, maximize reselling returns, and reduce the risks of leftovers and shortages. Our findings unlock the potential of artificial intelligence applications in retail operations and should interest practitioners and researchers in online retailing, especially those concerned with online returns policies and the consumer personalized service experience

The color of shareholders\u27 money: Institutional shareholders\u27 political values and corporate environmental disclosure

Highlights Institutional shareholders’ political values significantly influences corporate environmental disclosure and performance. Firms with Republican-oriented institutional shareholders are less likely to issue environmental reports. Institutional shareholders’ Republican-oriented political values are negatively associated with environmental performance. Institutional shareholders’ Republican-oriented political values are negatively associated with green innovations. Abstract In this study, we investigate whether and to what extent institutional shareholders\u27 political values influence their investees\u27 environmental disclosure and performance. Using employees\u27 political donation data, we construct institutional investors\u27 political ideology score, which higher (lower) value represents a more Republican- (Democratic)-leaning culture. We find that firms led by institutional shareholders with a more Republican-oriented political ideology are less likely to issue environmental reports. Such a negative effect is more pronounced for firms with institutional shareholders with long-term horizons, with high corporate Republican ideology scores, and without an environmental committee. We further find that institutional shareholders\u27 Republican-oriented political values are negatively associated with their investee firms\u27 environmental performance and green innovations. Overall, our results indicate that institutional shareholders\u27 internal political polarization significantly influences corporate environmental disclosure policies

Comparing Results of Five Glomerular Filtration Rate-Estimating Equations in the Korean General Population. MDRD Study, Revised Lund-Malmö, and Three CKD-EPI Equations

Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is a widely used index of kidney function. Recently, new formulas such as the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations or the Lund-Malmö equation were introduced for assessing eGFR. We compared them with the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation in the Korean adult population. METHODS: The study population comprised 1,482 individuals (median age 51 [42-59] yr, 48.9% males) who received annual physical check-ups during the year 2014. Serum creatinine (Cr) and cystatin C (CysC) were measured. We conducted a retrospective analysis using five GFR estimating equations (MDRD Study, revised Lund-Malmö, and Cr and/or CysC-based CKD-EPI equations). Reduced GFR was defined as eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m². RESULTS: For the GFR category distribution, large discrepancies were observed depending on the equation used; category G1 (≥90 mL/min/1.73 m²) ranged from 7.4-81.8%. Compared with the MDRD Study equation, the other four equations overestimated GFR, and CysC-based equations showed a greater difference (-31.3 for CKD-EPI(CysC) and -20.5 for CKD-EPI(Cr-CysC)). CysC-based equations decreased the prevalence of reduced GFR by one third (9.4% in the MDRD Study and 2.4% in CKD-EPI(CysC)). CONCLUSIONS: Our data shows that there are remarkable differences in eGFR assessment in the Korean population depending on the equation used, especially in normal or mildly decreased categories. Further prospective studies are necessary in various clinical settings

Investigation of the SH3BP2 Gene Mutation in Cherubism

Cherubism is a rare developmental lesion of the jaw that is generally inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Recent studies have revealed point mutations in the SH3BP2 gene in cherubism patients. In this study, we examined a 6-year-old Korean boy and his family. We found a Pro418Arg mutation in the SH3BP2 gene of the patient and his mother. A father and his 30-month-old younger brother had no mutations. Immunohistochemically, the multinucleated giant cells proved positive for CD68 and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Numerous spindle-shaped stromal cells expressed a ligand for receptor activator of nuclear factor kB (RANKL), but not in multinucleated giant cells. These results provide evidence that RANKL plays a critical role in the differentiation of osteoclast precursor cells to multinucleated giant cells in cherubism. Additionally, genetic analysis may be a useful method for differentiation of cherubism.</p

An Enhanced Double-layered P2P System for the Reliability in Dynamic Mobile Environments

The double-layered peer-to-peer (P2P) systems were introduced to reduce the network traffic in MANET. The peers in the systems are classified into super peers and sub-peers. Super peers manage their neighboring sub-peers. The network communications in the systems are done mostly among super peers. In case when a pair of neighboring super peers is too far to communicate, one or two of their sub-peers bridges the super peers. However, the double-layered systems need to improve the reliability that guarantees communications among peers. In this paper, we propose a new double-layered P2P system in which super peers are selected based on their mobility. We also propose two reliability improvement schemes, the avoidance scheme and the role changing scheme. They are applied to the proposed system to enhance the reliability of the system. The proposed system is implemented in the dynamic mobile P2P environment where peers may join and leave the network dynamically and the number of peers varies. The various experiments are done with the Network Simulator-2 v2.33. The experimental results show that the proposed system with the two schemes improved the reliability over other double-layered systems in terms of the failure rate by up to 25 %, while increasing the network traffic marginally