3,828 research outputs found
Coping with the postponement boundary problem: an empirical investigation in global food supply chains
Purpose – The postponement boundary problem entails that duties and cross-border trade complexity can lead companies to geographically postpone operations to downstream global facilities. The present study aims at investigating the problem to provide insights into the drivers behind the choice of different postponement strategies for global food supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach – A single case study was conducted considering an Italian company exporting olive oil toward the United States. Two global postponement strategies, previously formalized in the literature, were tailored for food supply chains. A multi-methodological approach was adopted, combining data obtained through exploratory case research with empirically grounded analytical modeling. A sensitivity analysis was also performed, to investigate outcomes related to the considered problem when changing key
parameters.
Findings – Bulky and heavy packing materials account for a big percentage of finished products’ volume and weight, and this can deeply affect strategies’ cost-effectiveness. Postponing packaging operations could allow for taking advantage of lower tariffs levied on bulk goods, contributing to significantly lower duties to be paid. However, important trade-offs could arise related to the required investments, and the fiscal regulatory frameworks must be carefully examined.
Originality/value – This study offers an empirical investigation of the postponement boundary problem, which is largely unexplored in the current literature. It also tackles an understudied empirical context as global food supply chains. It summarizes the drivers behind and explores the costs related to the implementation of different strategies, offering an original quantitative approach that could support practitioners’ decision making. Lastly, it formalizes five propositions that could pave the way for further research inquiries
Temperature-sensitive protein–DNA dimerizers
Programmable DNA-binding polyamides coupled to short peptides have led to the creation of synthetic artificial transcription factors. A hairpin polyamide-YPWM tetrapeptide conjugate facilitates the binding of a natural transcription factor Exd to an adjacent DNA site. Such small molecules function as protein-DNA dimerizers that stabilize complexes at composite DNA binding sites. Here we investigate the role of the linker that connects the polyamide to the peptide. We find that a substantial degree of variability in the linker length is tolerated at lower temperatures. At physiological temperatures, the longest linker tested confers a "switch"-like property on the protein-DNA dimerizer, in that it abolishes the ability of the YPWM moiety to recruit the natural transcription factor to DNA. These observations provide design principles for future artificial transcription factors that can be externally regulated and can function in concert with the cellular regulatory circuitry
Higgs signals and hard photons at the Next Linear Collider: the -fusion channel in the Standard Model
In this paper, we extend the analyses carried out in a previous article for
-fusion to the case of Higgs production via -fusion within the Standard
Model at the Next Linear Collider, in presence of electromagnetic radiation due
real photon emission. Calculations are carried out at tree-level and rates of
the leading order (LO) processes e^+e^-\rightarrow e^+e^- H \ar e^+e^- b\bar b
and e^+e^-\rightarrow e^+e^- H \ar e^+e^- WW \ar e^+e^- \mathrm{jjjj} are
compared to those of the next-to-leading order (NLO) reactions
e^+e^-\rightarrow e^+e^- H (\gamma)\ar e^+e^- b\bar b \gamma and
e^+e^-\rightarrow e^+e^- H (\gamma)\ar e^+e^- WW (\gamma) \ar e^+e^-
\mathrm{jjjj}\gamma, in the case of energetic and isolated photons.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, 5 PostScript figures embedded using epsfig and
bitmapped at 100dpi, complete paper including high definition figures
available at ftp://axpa.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk/stefano/cavendish_9611.ps or at
http://www.hep.phy.cam.ac.uk/theory/papers
Two minimal incision fasciotomy for chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the lower leg
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) of the leg is a pathological condition often related to overuse in subject who engage repetitive physical activities. Fascial release is the mainstay of surgical management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results obtained with a double incision decompressive fasciotomy. Eighteen consecutive athletes with a diagnosis of anterior and/or lateral CECS of the leg were operated on with a minimal double incision fascial release after a mean period of 4months after onset of symptoms. In 11 cases (61%) CECS was bilateral. Surgery was performed without tourniquet and active mobilization was starting immediately. Sports activities were resumed gradually at a mean period of 25days. The athletes were followed until 2years. All resumed pre-injury level sports activity. Two patients (18%) of the 11 who underwent to bilateral fasciotomy referred a sensation of leg weakness for an average period of 3months. The surgical technique presented in this paper seems to be a good mean to treat anterior and lateral leg CECS. The use of tourniquet is deconselled to obtain an accurate intraoperative haemostasis so reducing the risk of post-operative haematom
Minimal invasive surgery for coronoid fracture: technical note
Operative treatment of coronoid fracture often requires a large dissection of soft tissue, resulting in elbow stiffness and functional limitation. The authors present a minimal invasive, safe technique, useful in the case of isolated coronoid fracture associated with elbow dislocation. This technique does not require soft tissue dissection and allows an early unlimited resumption of sports activitie
Looking for the Charged Higgs Boson
This review article starts with a brief introduction to the charged Higgs
boson (H^\pm) in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). It then
discusses the prospects of a relatively light H^\pm boson search via top quark
decay at Tevatron/LHC, and finally a heavy H^\pm boson search at LHC. The
viable channels for H^\pm search are identified in both the cases, with
particular emphasis on the H^\pm --> tau + nu decay channel. The effects of NLO
QCD correction in the SM as well as the MSSM are discussed briefly.Comment: 17 pages with 8 eps figures, Invited review, Reference adde
Facile Electron Transfer in Atomically Coupled Heterointerface for Accelerated Oxygen Evolution
An efficient and cost-effective approach for the development of advanced cata-lysts has been regarded as a sustainable way for green energy utilization. The general guideline to design active and efficient catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is to achieve high intrinsic activity and the exposure of more density of the interfacial active sites. The heterointerface is one of the most attractive ways that plays a key role in electrochemical water oxidation. Herein, atomically cluster-based heterointerface catalysts with strong metal support interaction (SMSI) between WMn2O4 and TiO2 are designed. In this case, the WMn2O4 nanoflakes are uniformly decorated by TiO2 particles to create electronic effect on WMn2O4 nanoflakes as confirmed by X-ray absorption near edge fine structure. As a result, the engineered heterointerface requires an OER onset overpotential as low as 200 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode, which is stable for up to 30 h of test. The outstanding performance and long-term durability are due to SMSI, the exposure of interfacial active sites, and accelerated reaction kinetics. To confirm the synergistic interaction between WMn2O4 and TiO2, and the modification of the electronic structure, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) are used
Protocolo de análise para determinação da atividade antioxidante total em hortaliças no sistema beta-caroteno / ácido linoléico.
bitstream/CNPH-2010/36126/1/cot-68.pd
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