Conflict of Interest in Third-Party Reviews: An Experimental Study

This paper experimentally examines a conflict of interest (COI) situation in which a third-party reviewer provides a product assessment for a firm but also potentially benefits economically from the assessed firm’s rival. We present a behavioral economics model to examine how reviewer competition and reciprocal relationships between firms and reviewers affect decision outcomes, followed by an experiment to investigate the model predictions. The experimental results are consistent with the behavioral model predictions. In particular, we empirically document a COI problem where the third-party reviewer’s report is biased, and consequently, the assessed firm underinvests in product quality. We find that this adverse result is driven by reciprocity between the third-party reviewer and the assessed firm’s rival. When we introduce an additional reviewer such that there is competition among the third-party reviewers, reporting biases are alleviated, and firms raise product quality levels. Interestingly, however, when informal agreements exist between the third-party reviewer and the assessed firm’s rival, reviewer competition exacerbates biases even more compared with the case without competition, further undermining the assessed firm’s incentive to invest in product quality. This paper was accepted by Eric Anderson, marketing.

THE EFFECT OF COTTONSEED MEAL (CSM) GROUNDNUT MEAL (GNM) MIXTURE AND PROTEIN LEVELS IN PRACTICAL BROILER DIETS

Two experiments were conducted with Ross-typpe chicks to determine the optimum substitution level of CSM for GNM protein in both starter and finisher rations. In the first experiment 500 day old broilers were used in a 42 ---day 5 x 2 factorial arrangement to study the effects of 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50% CSM and 24 to 26% protein diets on final body weight, rate of gain and feed efficiency. The basal diet was supplemented with methionine to meet ARC (1975) recommended level and 0.2% lysine. The result indicate that up to 40% of GNM could be replaced with CSM without any adverse result on rate of gain, final body weight and feed efficiency. Chicks on 26%protein diets grew better than those on 24% but the difference were not statistically significant. In the second experiment 20% protein diet was substituted up to 100% with CSM protein. It was found that up to 70% protein of GNM could be replaced by CSM in a broiler finisher with slight but non-significant differences in the rate of gain, feed efficiency and final body weight. The results as well as economic implication of these findings are fully discussed

Hedging with commodity futures: evidence from the coffee market in Vietnam

In July 2018, the Vietnam Commodity Exchange (VNX) was transferred into the Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV) to hedge price risks through futures on international commodity exchanges. This research aimed to verify the efficiency of futures on ICE EU and ICE US under the perspective of hedging for Vietnamese coffee, determine optimal hedging ratios and the optimal number of each futures contract, and investigate the feasibility of introducing domestic commodity exchanges in Vietnam. Using the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the results show that (1) Robusta futures with expiration dates of January, March, May, and July on ICE EU are efficient hedging tools, but the adverse result is justified for Arabica futures on ICE US; (2) Robusta futures with the expiration date of January are the best in terms of risk management for Vietnamese coffee market; (3) optimal hedge ratio of Robusta futures of around 34% is much lower than ratios showed by previous researches; (4) in the short term, introducing coffee futures into the domestic commodity exchanges is still not feasible in the short term, but should be considered in the long term in Vietnam. This is the first study providing empirical evidence about the hedging role of futures contracts on ICE EU and ICE US, contributing to enrich the existing empirical evidence on the hedging role of futures for the agricultural sector.

Examining the factors related to bacteriological testing of private wells in Southern Ontario

The incidence of infectious waterborne disease in Canada continues to be a public health issue and can be associated with the source of drinking water. Millions of Canadians relying on unregulated private well water are at increased risk of disease. This study examined relationships between well and owner characteristics and the frequency of microbial testing of private wells in two southern-Ontario counties. Using multi-level logistic regression models, testing frequency (i.e., at least once per year vs. less) was modeled, as both self-reported and laboratory-validated, for associations with owner and well characteristics. For the self-reported outcome, a previous adverse test result significantly increased the odds of being classified as a frequent tester, and owners with a well-head more than 16 inches (40.6 cm) above the ground were at significantly higher odds of being classified as frequent testers compared to those with well-heads less than 16 inches above the ground and those below ground level. For the model based on the laboratory-validated outcome, the odds of an owner being a frequent tester significantly varied with the length of occupancy and the occurrence of a previous adverse result. The absence of associations between other well characteristics and testing frequency suggests that well safety education could benefit these communities.

Research on Reaction Mechanism of Vacuum Carbon Thermal Reduction and Dephosphorization in High Phosphate Iron Ore

According to the mineral composition characteristics of high-phosphorus iron ore, the reaction mechanism of fluorapatite was investigated using pure substance and gangue under vacuum carbon thermal reduction (VCTR) conditions. The effects of reduction temperature, basicity, and C/O ratio on the metallization ratio, dephosphorization ratio, and phosphorus content of pellets were studied. The reaction process of fluorapatite in high-phosphorus iron ore was investigated. The results showed that when the metallization ratio of pellets reached maximum (95%), the dephosphorization ratio was only 5.6%, thus indicating adverse result. The reduction processes of high-phosphorus iron ore under vacuum and nitrogen environment were, respectively, compared under the optimal condition. It was found that the metallization ratio of pellets in the vacuum condition was higher than that under the nitrogen condition, while the dephosphorization ratio showed an opposite result. This indicated that in the process of vacuum reduction, fluorapatite not only reacted with carbon to form gaseous phosphide, but also with iron to form compounds containing the Fe–P bond. Therefore, a new mechanism of reduction of fluorapatite was proposed as follows: 2Ca5(PO4)3F + 12Fe + 9SiO2 + 15C = 9CaSiO3 + 6Fe2P + 15CO + CaF2.

Neonatal Outcome among the Misoprostol Induced Term Pregnant women

Background: Use of misoprostol in term pregnancy can give some adverse result. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to see the neonatal outcome among the term pregnant women. Methodology: This cohort study was carried out in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Sir Salimullah Medical College and Mitford Hospital during the period from 1st September 2005 to 28th February 2006. Primi or second gravida patients with the gestational age between 37 weeks to 42 weeks in singleton pregnancy with cephalic presentation and not in labour who came for delivery purposes during the study period at any age were selected as study population. After proper selection of the cases, induction of labour (IOL) was done by applying Tab Misoprostol 50mcg in the posterior vaginal fornix. Purpose of induction of labour was successful when vaginal delivery occurred without any untoward side effects and without any surgical interference and with good APGAR score of the newborn. Result: A total number of 60 pregnant women were recruited in this study. 60% patients were within 23-30 years of age. This table shows that out of 43 cases of vaginal delivery 22 cases needed 1 dose of Misoprostol 21 cases needed more than 1 dose. This table shows that all the baby were live born. Among them 55 (92%) baby were healthy and 5 (8%) baby were asphyxiated. the depressed babies were well after resuscitation in usual manner and after 5" mean Apgar score was 9.46. Mean birth weight was 2.94 kg. Conclusion: There is no perinatal death in the misoprostol induced delivery; however, neonatal asphyxia is found in few cases as an adverse outcome.Journal of Current and Advance Medical Research 2015;2(1):3-6DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jcamr.v2i1.22579

Las relaciones sociales entre el proveedor y el comprador. Aplicación empírica del Marketing Relacional: un caso de estudio / The Social Relations Between the Supplier and the Buyer. Empirical Application of Relationship Marketing: a Case of Study

ABSTRACTAlthough supermarkets are replicating the neighborhood store business format, located in the lower socioeconomic levels from Colombia, have not yet attained displacement. As an adverse result to these interests, an increase in sales and participation of this type of retailer in the Colombian market has been observed in recent years. This phenomenon that has caught the attention and has been subject of study of researchers from sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, management and marketing, have prompted the interest in conducting this research which aims to demonstrate, from the perspective of relationship marketing and social networks, why social relations and relational benefits has been the key aspects of success that make up the competitive advantage of the neighborhood stores studied in the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia. Given the qualitative characteristics of the variables to assess, the collection and identification of the findings were made by using unstructured observation techniques, in-depth interviews and content analysis. Among the main findings, it was found that the aspects that have favored the permanency of such business in the market are: the spatial proximity, social and affective relationships that arise between merchant and consumers; human social networks, primary and informal, that arise in the interaction that occurs between the shopkeeper with customers, suppliers and other shopkeeper. Social relationships that emerge from this interaction produce long-term social and affective bonds, creating social, psychological, economic and personalization benefits for the parties. Finally, identified findings are expected to be useful for other organizations to formulate strategies of relationship marketing, or to those who are interested in doing future research in this field. Finally, findings identified expected to be useful for other organizations to devise strategies of relationship marketing, or who are interested in doing future research in this field.RESUMENAunque las grandes superficies están imitando el formato de negocio de las tiendas de barrio ubicadas en los niveles socioeconómicos más bajos de la población colombiana, aún no han logrado su desplazamiento. Como resultado adverso a estos intereses, en los últimos años se ha observado un incremento en las ventas y participación de estos minoris-tas en el mercado colombiano. Este fenómeno que ha llamado la atención y ha sido objeto de estudio de investigadores desde la sociología, antropología, psicología, economía, administración y marketing, motivó el interés por realizar esta investiga-ción que tiene el propósito demostrar, desde la perspectiva del marketing relacional y los conceptos de redes sociales prima-rias, por qué las relaciones sociales y beneficios relacionales han sido los aspectos claves de éxito que han conformado la ventaja competitiva de las tiendas de barrio estudiadas en la ciudad de Santiago de Cali-Colombia. Dadas las característi-cas cualitativas de las variables a evaluar, la recolección e identificación de los hallazgos se realizaron mediante el uso de las técnicas de observación no estructurada, entrevistas en profundidad y análisis de contenido. Entre los principales ha-llazgos, se encontró que los aspectos que han favorecido la permanencia de este tipo de negocios en el mercado son: la proximidad espacial, las relaciones sociales y afectivas entre tendero y consumidor; las redes sociales humanas primarias e informales que surgen en la interacción que se presenta entre el tendero con los clientes, proveedores y otros tenderos. Las relaciones sociales que emergen de ésta interacción, producen vínculos sociales y afectivos de largo plazo, creando benefi-cios sociales, psicológicos, económicos y de personalización para las partes. Finalmente, se espera que los hallazgos identi-ficados sean de utilidad para que otras organizaciones diseñen estrategias de marketing relacional, o para quienes se en-cuentren interesados en realizar futuras investigación en este campo.

Homocysteine thiolactone affects protein ubiquitination in yeast.

The formation of homocysteine thiolactone (HcyTl) from homocysteine occurs in all examined so far organisms including bacteria, yeast, and humans. Protein N-homocysteinylation at the ε-amino group of lysine is an adverse result of HcyTl accumulation. Since tagging of proteins by ubiquitination before their proteasomal degradation takes place at the same residue, we wondered how N-homocysteinylation may affect the ubiquitination of proteins. We used different yeast strains carrying mutations in genes involved in the homocysteine metabolism. We found positive correlation between the concentration of endogenous HcyTl and the concentration of ubiquitinated proteins. This suggests that N-homocysteinylation of proteins apparently does not preclude but rather promotes their decomposition.

A Performance Study of Real Coded Genetic Algorithm on Gear Design Optimization

he major problem that deals with practical engineers is the mechanical design and creativeness. Mechanical design can be defined as the choice of materials and geometry, which satisfies, specified functional requirements of that design. A good design has to minimize the most significant adverse result and to maximize the most significant desirable result. An evolutionary algorithm offers efficient ways of creating and comparing a new design solution in order to complete an optimal design. In this paper a type of Genetic Algorithm, Real Coded Genetic Algorithm (RCGA) is used to optimize the design of helical gear pair and a combined objective function with maximizes the Power, Efficiency and minimizes the overall Weight, Centre distance. The performance of the proposed algorithms is validated through LINGO Software and the comparative results are analyzed.