Unraveling the Dimensions of Supplier Involvement and their Effects on NPD Performance: A Meta-Analysis

We study the relationship between supplier involvement in new product development and performance. The current literature is scattered and fragmented with studies reporting mixed empirical evidence for a variety of concepts related to “Early Supplier Involvement.” We conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing literature to reconcile conflicted findings, revise and refine theoretical perspectives, and provide evidence-based scholarly and practical implications. To achieve these aims, we unravel the general relationship by considering three factors. First, we delineate different types of performance outcomes, mainly related to NPD efficiency (e.g., speed) and NPD effectiveness (e.g., product quality). Second, we distinguish between the moment and the extent of supplier involvement, related to different theoretical perspectives on external knowledge integration. Third, we disentangle multiple levels of analysis that are seemingly obscured in the literature, specifically the project and organizational levels. We find that extensive supplier involvement has positive effects on NPD efficiency and effectiveness, whereas earlier supplier involvement only to some degree affects NPD efficiency and not effectiveness. In conclusion, our meta-analysis based on 11,420 observations from 51 studies provides strong theoretical and practical insights on the important phenomenon of supplier involvement

Purchasing process models: Inspiration for teaching purchasing and supply management

Most scholars of purchasing and supply management (PSM) are familiar with some form of a purchasing process model (PPM). A PPM is the visual representation of the sequence of activities that constitute purchasing and supply management. Such a visual representation can be a tool in teaching PSM since it gives students an overview of an otherwise intangible process. Moreover, a PPM can also be viewed as a representation of the identity of PSM, providing a schema of what is PSM (and what it is not). In this notes and debates article, a systematic overview of different types of PPMs, and their evolution, is presented, based on a literature review and a survey, with the models being classified as tactical/operational, strategic, cyclical, or decision-making processes

Boosting the efficiency of transient photoluminescence microscopy using cylindrical lenses

Transient Photoluminescence Microscopy (TPLM) allows for the direct visualization of carrier transport in semiconductor materials with sub nanosecond and few nanometer resolution. The technique is based on measuring changes in the spatial distribution of a diffraction limited population of carriers using spatiotemporal detection of the radiative decay of the carriers. The spatial resolution of TPLM is therefore primarily determined by the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). Here we present a method using cylindrical lenses to boost the signal acquisition in TPLM experiments. The resulting asymmetric magnification of the photoluminescence emission of the diffraction limited spot can increase the collection efficiency by more than a factor of 10, significantly reducing acquisition times and further boosting spatial resolution.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, and supporting informatio

Boosting the efficiency of transient photoluminescence microscopy using cylindrical lenses

Transient Photoluminescence Microscopy (TPLM) allows for the direct visualization of carrier transport in semiconductor materials with sub nanosecond and few nanometer resolution. The technique is based on measuring changes in the spatial distribution of a diffraction limited population of carriers using spatiotemporal detection of the radiative decay of the carriers. The spatial resolution of TPLM is therefore primarily determined by the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). Here we present a method using cylindrical lenses to boost the signal acquisition in TPLM experiments. The resulting asymmetric magnification of the photoluminescence emission of the diffraction limited spot can increase the collection efficiency by more than a factor of 10, significantly reducing acquisition times and further boosting spatial resolutionWe acknowledge the support from the “(MAD2D-CM)-UAM” project funded by Comunidad de Madrid, by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and by NextGenerationEU from the European Union, as well as from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant agreement TED2021-131018B-C21 and through the Ramón y Cajal program (F.P. RYC-2017-23253

Editorial: rising stars in inflammation 2021

Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease

Synthesizing the effects of mental simulation on behavior change: Systematic review and multilevel meta-analysis

From Springer Nature via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: registration 2021-01-05, online 2021-05-04, pub-electronic 2021-05-04, pub-print 2021-10Publication status: PublishedAbstract: Mental simulation of future scenarios is hypothesized to affect future behavior, but a large and inconsistent literature means it is unclear whether, and under what conditions, mental simulation can change people’s behavior. A meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the effects of mental simulation on behavior and examine under what conditions mental simulation works best. An inclusive systematic database search identified 123 (N = 5,685) effect sizes comparing mental simulation to a control group. After applying a multilevel random effects model, a statistically-reliable positive effect of Hedges’ g = 0.49, 95% CI [0.37; 0.62] was found, which was significantly different than zero. Using a taxonomy to identify different subtypes of mental simulation (along two dimensions, class [process, performance, outcome] and purpose [whether an inferior, standard, superior version of that behavior is simulated]), it was found that superior simulations garnered more reliable beneficial effects than inferior simulations. These findings have implications for integrating theories of how mental simulations change behavior, how mental simulations are classified, and may help guide professionals seeking evidence-based and cost-effective methods of changing behavior

Autoreactive B cells in rheumatoid arthritis consist of activated CXCR3+ memory B cells and plasmablasts

Many autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are characterized by persistence of autoreactive B cell responses which is often directly implicated in disease pathogenesis. How and why these cells are generated or how they are maintained for years is largely unknown. Rheumatoid arthritis is among the most common AIDs and characterized by autoantibodies recognizing proteins with post-translational modifications (PTMs). This PTM-directed, autoreactive B cell compartment is ill defined. Here, we visualized the B cell response against the three main types of PTM antigens implicated in RA by spectral flow cytometry. Our results show extensive cross-reactivity of autoreactive B cells against all three PTM antigens (citrulline, homocitrulline and acetyllysine). Unsupervised clustering revealed several distinct memory B cell (mBC) populations. Autoreactive cells clustered with the most recently activated, class-switched mBC phenotype, expressing high CD80, low CD24 and low CD21. Notably, patients also harbored large fractions of autoreactive plasmablasts (PB). Both PTM-directed mBC and PB showed high expression of CXCR3, a receptor for chemokines abundantly present in arthritic joints. Together, our data provide novel, detailed insight into the biology of B cell autoreactivity and its remarkable, seemingly exhaustless persistence in a prominent human AID. Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease

Autoreactive B cells in rheumatoid arthritis include mainly activated CXCR3+memory B cells and plasmablasts

Many autoimmune diseases (AIDs) are characterized by the persistence of autoreactive B cell responses, which have been directly implicated in disease pathogenesis. How and why these cells are generated or how they are maintained for years is largely unknown. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is among the most common AIDs and is characterized by autoantibodies recognizing proteins with posttranslational modifications (PTMs). This PTM-directed autoreactive B cell compartment is ill defined. Here, we visualized the B cell response against the three main types of PTM antigens implicated in RA by spectral flow cytometry. Our results showed extensive cross-reactivity of PTM-directed B cells against all three PTM antigens (citrulline, homocitrulline, and acetyllysine). Unsupervised clustering revealed several distinct memory B cell (mBC) populations. PTM-directed cells clustered with the most recently activated class-switched mBC phenotype, with high CD80, low CD24, and low CD21 expression. Notably, patients also harbored large fractions of PTM-directed plasmablasts (PBs). Both PTM-directed mBCs and PBs showed high expression of CXCR3, a receptor for chemokines present in abundance in arthritic joints. Together, our data provide detailed insight into the biology of B cell autoreactivity and its remarkable, seemingly exhaustless persistence in a prominent human AID. Pathophysiology and treatment of rheumatic disease