Characterising (and closing?) the accountability-capability gap in complex procurement

The role of procurement in the Grenfell fire can be explored in a variety of ways. First, the outsourcing of complex work is increasingly common in private and public-sector procurement. Although the primary strategic rationale for the ‘make-or-buy’ decision remains efficiency maximization, a range of factors, including core competencies and greater technological complexity have shifted the scale and scope of outsourcing. Given the knowledge asymmetries and asset specificities inherent in complex procurement, it seems certain that Grenfell’s procurement professionals found themselves facing the complexity of 'buying more than they knew’, which has demonstrated insufficient procurement capability. Furthermore, replacing internal production by outsourcing (for example, outsourcing auditing to fire services) without considering the loss of internal knowledge, further exacerbated the issue of Grenfell’s lack of capability to buy and monitor complex work. Goal incongruency is also clearly an issue - i.e. the buyer focused on achieving high quality, while the contractors’ goal was to minimise the costs incurred. Well-established behavioural insights indicate that the goal incongruity can, especially if not aligned to an explicit/formal governance system, leads to dysfunctional outcomes. The paper also proposes some ways in which the procurement accountability and capability gap could be addressed. First, adoption of long(er)-term, relational contracts might go some way to resolving the goal congruency issue and incentivise contractors to provide high quality service while reducing monitoring costs. Second, and more fundamentally, public sector contracting organisations need to think much more carefully about outsourcing decisions and consider hybrid mechanisms that both leverage external specialised competencies and limit the loss of control and monitoring capability. Finally, such sophistication likely requires greater professionalisation in the public/construction procurement space with greater emphasis on ethical conduct. Although not without its own challenges, greater professionalisation may be useful for upholding explicit (for example, ethical) and implicit norms

Whole genome sequence analysis suggests intratumoral heterogeneity in dissemination of breast cancer to lymph nodes.

BACKGROUND: Intratumoral heterogeneity may help drive resistance to targeted therapies in cancer. In breast cancer, the presence of nodal metastases is a key indicator of poorer overall survival. The aim of this study was to identify somatic genetic alterations in early dissemination of breast cancer by whole genome next generation sequencing (NGS) of a primary breast tumor, a matched locally-involved axillary lymph node and healthy normal DNA from blood. METHODS: Whole genome NGS was performed on 12 µg (range 11.1-13.3 µg) of DNA isolated from fresh-frozen primary breast tumor, axillary lymph node and peripheral blood following the DNA nanoball sequencing protocol. Single nucleotide variants, insertions, deletions, and substitutions were identified through a bioinformatic pipeline and compared to CIN25, a key set of genes associated with tumor metastasis. RESULTS: Whole genome sequencing revealed overlapping variants between the tumor and node, but also variants that were unique to each. Novel mutations unique to the node included those found in two CIN25 targets, TGIF2 and CCNB2, which are related to transcription cyclin activity and chromosomal stability, respectively, and a unique frameshift in PDS5B, which is required for accurate sister chromatid segregation during cell division. We also identified dominant clonal variants that progressed from tumor to node, including SNVs in TP53 and ARAP3, which mediates rearrangements to the cytoskeleton and cell shape, and an insertion in TOP2A, the expression of which is significantly associated with tumor proliferation and can segregate breast cancers by outcome. CONCLUSION: This case study provides preliminary evidence that primary tumor and early nodal metastasis have largely overlapping somatic genetic alterations. There were very few mutations unique to the involved node. However, significant conclusions regarding early dissemination needs analysis of a larger number of patient samples

Global Gene Expression Profiling Of Human Pleural Mesotheliomas: Identification of Matrix Metalloproteinase 14 (MMP-14) as Potential Tumour Target

BACKGROUND:The goal of our study was to molecularly dissect mesothelioma tumour pathways by mean of microarray technologies in order to identify new tumour biomarkers that could be used as early diagnostic markers and possibly as specific molecular therapeutic targets. METHODOLOGY:We performed Affymetrix HGU133A plus 2.0 microarray analysis, containing probes for about 39,000 human transcripts, comparing 9 human pleural mesotheliomas with 4 normal pleural specimens. Stringent statistical feature selection detected a set of differentially expressed genes that have been further evaluated to identify potential biomarkers to be used in early diagnostics. Selected genes were confirmed by RT-PCR. As reported by other mesothelioma profiling studies, most of genes are involved in G2/M transition. Our list contains several genes previously described as prognostic classifier. Furthermore, we found novel genes, never associated before to mesotheliom that could be involved in tumour progression. Notable is the identification of MMP-14, a member of matrix metalloproteinase family. In a cohort of 70 mesothelioma patients, we found by a multivariate Cox regression analysis, that the only parameter influencing overall survival was expression of MMP14. The calculated relative risk of death in MM patients with low MMP14 expression was significantly lower than patients with high MMp14 expression (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS:Based on the results provided, this molecule could be viewed as a new and effective therapeutic target to test for the cure of mesothelioma

Knowledge sharing in project-based supply networks

Purpose – Project-based supply networks are an emerging form of organizing used to meet a buying organization’s operational and innovation goals. Knowledge sharing among suppliers in the network plays a key role in successful project delivery but is challenging to achieve in practice. We draw on self-determination theory (SDT) to examine the interactive effect of incentive provisions (penalties and bonuses) and network governance (lead or shared) on knowledge sharing motivation by individual boundary-spanners within project-based supply networks. Design/methodology/approach – A scenario-based behavioral experiment of 217 professionals within the UK using the online platform, Prolific, was conducted. A Hayes Macro PROCESS model was used to analyze the data. We pilot-tested the scenario with project management experts, senior managers, and directors. Findings – Our findings highlighted that the effectiveness of incentive provisions on knowledge sharing may be dependent on the mode of network governance. Where suppliers have shared responsibility for managing the network (shared governance), bonuses were more effective than penalties in motivating knowledge sharing through support of boundary-spanners’ autonomy needs. However, where the buying organization has transferred responsibility for managing the network to an external third-party organization (lead governance), we found no significant difference between the effectiveness of penalty versus bonus provisions in motivating knowledge sharing. Originality – Prior research in operations and supply chain management (OSCM) has shown the positive effect of incentive provisions on knowledge sharing motivation, but largely overlooked the effectiveness of such incentives when nested within broader governance mechanisms used in projects and their networks. Moreover, while scholars have started to highlight the importance of governance mechanisms in knowledge sharing at the dyadic level, we know very little about the impact of network governance

Heat and mass transfer and thermodynamic analysis of power-law fluid flow in a porous microchannel

Transfer of heat and mass and thermodynamic irreversibilities are investigated in a porous, parallel-plate microreactor in which the working fluid is non-Newtonian. The investigated microreactor features thick flat walls with uneven thicknesses, which can be subject to different thermal loads. The dimensionless governing equations of the resultant asymmetric problem are first derived theoretically and then solved numerically by using a finite volume technique. This results in two-dimensional solutions for the velocity, temperature and concentration fields as well as the distributions of Nusselt number and local and total entropy generations. The results clearly demonstrate the significance of the numerical value of the power-law index and departure from Newtonian behavior of the fluid. In particular, it is shown that by increasing the value of power-law index the Nusselt number on the wall decreases. This leads to the intensification of the temperature gradients in the system and therefore magnifies the local and total entropy generations. Also, it is shown that the wall thickness and thermal asymmetry can majorly affect the heat transfer process and thermodynamic irreversibility of the microreactor. It is noted that the current work is the first comprehensive study of heat transfer and entropy generation in porous micro-chemical reactor with non-Newtonian, power-law fluid

Correlation entre les marqueurs tumoraux circulants et la masse tumorale chez des patients traites pour un cancer colorectal métastatique.

International audienc

Relationship between pretreatment levels of circulating DNA, circulating tumor cells, CEA, CA19.9 and tumor burden on CT scan in patients treated for a metastatic colorectal cancer.

International audienc