Transfer pricing as a means for motivating management of profit centers

The main objective of this study is to analyze the role and potential of transfer pricing as a means of management control in large organizations. The special emphasis is on analyzing the potential of transfer pricing when we are motivating the profit center managers. The research approach is theoretical and literature reviews include studies about profit center organizations, performance measurement and analysis, incentive systems, transfer pricing techniques and agency theory. Based on the analysis, it seems that transfer pricing is a suitable tool for controlling, motivating and managing profit center managers. This requires that the performance measurement can be done fairly and transfer prices are set using fair assumptions. The motivating effects of transfer pricing can be enhanced if the reward system is connected to performance measurement system. In synthesis there is presented effects of transfer pricing to profit center managers behavior. There is also presented opinion about fair transfer pricing policy.

Diffusion of Administrative Innovation: TQM Implementation and Effectiveness in a Global

The main objective of this dissertation is to create new knowledge on an administrative innovation, its adoption, diffusion and finally its effectiveness. In this dissertation the administrative innovation is approached through a widely utilized management philosophy, namely the total quality management (TQM) strategy. TQM operationalizes a self-assessment procedure, which is based on continual improvement principles and measuring the improvements. This dissertation also captures the theme of change management as it analyzes the adoption and diffusion of the administrative innovation. It identifies innovation characteristics as well as organisational and individual factors explaining the adoption and implementation. As a special feature, this study also explores the effectiveness of the innovation based on objective data. For studying the administrative innovation (TQM model), a multinational Case Company provides a versatile ground for a deep, longitudinal analysis. The Case Company started the adoption systematically in the mid 1980s in some of its units. As part of their strategic planning today, the procedure is in use throughout the entire global company. The empirical story begins from the innovation adoption decision that was made in the Case Company over 22 years ago. In order to be able to capture the right atmosphere and backgrounds leading to the adoption decision, key informants from that time were interviewed, since the main target was to clarify the dynamics of how an administrative innovation develops. In addition, archival material was collected and studied, available memos and data relating to the innovation, innovation adoption and later to the implementation contained altogether 20500 pages of documents. A survey was furthermore conducted at the end of 2006 focusing on questions related to the innovation, organization and leadership characteristics and the response rate totalled up to 54%. For measuring the effectiveness of the innovation implementation, the needed longitudinal objective performance data was collected. This data included the profit unit level experience of TQM, the development of the self assessment scores per profit unit and performance data per profit unit measured with profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction. The data covered the years 1995-2006. As a result, the prerequisites for the successful adoption of an administrative innovation were defined, such as the top management involvement, support of the change agents and effective tools for implementation and measurement. The factors with the greatest effect on the depth of the implementation were the timing of the adoption and formalization. The results also indicated that the TQM model does have an effect on the company performance measured with profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction. Consequently this thesis contributes to the present literature (i) by taking into its scope an administrative innovation and focusing on the whole innovation implementation process, from the adoption, through diffusion until its consequences, (ii) because the studied factors with an effect on the innovation adoption and diffusion are multifaceted and grouped into individual, organizational and environmental factors, and a strong emphasis is put on the role of the individual change agents and (iii) by measuring the depth and consistency of the administrative innovation. This deep analysis was possible due to the availability of longitudinal data with triangulation possibilities.

Endovascular treatment of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia.

PRINCIPLES: To assess the efficiency and complication rates of vaso-occlusion of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) in Rendu-Osler-Weber disease (hereditary haemorrhagic telangectasia; HHT). METHODS: Seventy-two patients were investigated in our institution for HHT between March 2000 and November 2011. Sixteen presented PAVMs (22.2%), and 11 (68.8%) were treated with vaso-occlusion for a total of 18 procedures. Procedures included coils, plugs and combined approaches. Immediate success and recurrence rate, complication were recorded, as well as persistent and new PAVMs during clinical and computed tomography (CT) follow-up. RESULTS: Eighteen procedures were performed and a total of 37 PAVMs were treated, 19 with coils, 16 with plugs and 2 with combined treatment. Mean CT follow-up time was 41 months (1‒164). No major complication was observed. One distal translocation was treated during the same intervention. Two PAVMs persisted after treatment (5.7%), both treated by means of plug embolisation. One new PAVM was observed during follow-up CT. PAVMs with an afferent artery of less than 3mm or asymptomatic PAVMs were not treated. CONCLUSION: Recent studies have demonstrated that vaso-occlusion has become the gold standard treatment for PAVM. This study is in accordance with previous results and shows a minimal complication rate and little recurrence, whether by coils, plugs, or combined treatments.

Detecting patterns of species diversification in the presence of both rate shifts and mass extinctions.

BACKGROUND: Recent methodological advances allow better examination of speciation and extinction processes and patterns. A major open question is the origin of large discrepancies in species number between groups of the same age. Existing frameworks to model this diversity either focus on changes between lineages, neglecting global effects such as mass extinctions, or focus on changes over time which would affect all lineages. Yet it seems probable that both lineages differences and mass extinctions affect the same groups. RESULTS: Here we used simulations to test the performance of two widely used methods under complex scenarios of diversification. We report good performances, although with a tendency to over-predict events with increasing complexity of the scenario. CONCLUSION: Overall, we find that lineage shifts are better detected than mass extinctions. This work has significance to assess the methods currently used to estimate changes in diversification using phylogenetic trees. Our results also point toward the need to develop new models of diversification to expand our capabilities to analyse realistic and complex evolutionary scenarios.

Study of criteria influencing the success rate of DNA swabs in operational conditions: a contribution to an evidence-based approach to crime scene investigation and triage

DNA is nowadays swabbed routinely to investigate serious and volume crimes, but research remains scarce when it comes to determining the criteria that may impact the success rate of DNA swabs taken on different surfaces and situations. To investigate these criteria in fully operational conditions, DNA analysis results of 4772 swabs taken by the forensic unit of a police department in Western Switzerland over a 2.5-year period (2012-2014) in volume crime cases were considered. A representative and random sample of 1236 swab analyses was extensively examined and codified, describing several criteria such as whether the swabbing was performed at the scene or in the lab, the zone of the scene where it was performed, the kind of object or surface that was swabbed, whether the target specimen was a touch surface or a biological fluid, and whether the swab targeted a single surface or combined different surfaces. The impact of each criterion and of their combination was assessed in regard to the success rate of DNA analysis, measured through the quality of the resulting profile, and whether the profile resulted in a hit in the national database or not. Results show that some situations - such as swabs taken on door and window handles for instance - have a higher success rate than average swabs. Conversely, other situations lead to a marked decrease in the success rate, which should discourage further analyses of such swabs. Results also confirm that targeting a DNA swab on a single surface is preferable to swabbing different surfaces with the intent to aggregate cells deposited by the offender. Such results assist in predicting the chance that the analysis of a swab taken in a given situation will lead to a positive result. The study could therefore inform an evidence-based approach to decision-making at the crime scene (what to swab or not) and at the triage step (what to analyse or not), contributing thus to save resource and increase the efficiency of forensic science efforts.

Efecto de la temperatura en la tasa de puesta de reinas de la hormiga argentina, Linepithema humile (Mayr, 1868), (Hymenoptera, Dolichoderine) bajo condiciones experimentales de monoginia y poliginia = Effect of temperature on the oviposition rate of the argentine ant queens, Linepithema humile (Mayr 1868), (Hymenoptera, Dolichoderine) under experimental conditions

Data concerning the effect of temperature on different physiological parameters of an invasive species can be a useful tool to predict its potential distribution range through the use of modelling approaches. In the case of the Argentine ant these data are too scarce and incomplete. The aim of the present study is to compile new data regarding the effect of temperature on the oviposition rate of the Argentine ant queens. We analysed the oviposition rate of queens at twelve controlled temperatures, ranging from 10ºC to 34ºC under different monogynous and polygynous conditions. The oviposition rate of the Argentine ant queens is affected by temperature in the same manner, independently of the number of queens in the nest. The optimal temperature for egg laying was 28ºC, and its upper and lower limits depended on the degree of polygyny

Effect of Smoking on Blood Pressure and Resting Heart Rate: A Mendelian Randomization Meta-Analysis in the CARTA Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is an important cardiovascular disease risk factor, but the mechanisms linking smoking to blood pressure are poorly understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data on 141 317 participants (62 666 never, 40 669 former, 37 982 current smokers) from 23 population-based studies were included in observational and Mendelian randomization meta-analyses of the associations of smoking status and smoking heaviness with systolic and diastolic blood pressure, hypertension, and resting heart rate. For the Mendelian randomization analyses, a genetic variant rs16969968/rs1051730 was used as a proxy for smoking heaviness in current smokers. In observational analyses, current as compared with never smoking was associated with lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure and lower hypertension risk, but with higher resting heart rate. In observational analyses among current smokers, 1 cigarette/day higher level of smoking heaviness was associated with higher (0.21 bpm; 95% confidence interval 0.19; 0.24) resting heart rate and slightly higher diastolic blood pressure (0.05 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval 0.02; 0.08) and systolic blood pressure (0.08 mm Hg; 95% confidence interval 0.03; 0.13). However, in Mendelian randomization analyses among current smokers, although each smoking increasing allele of rs16969968/rs1051730 was associated with higher resting heart rate (0.36 bpm/allele; 95% confidence interval 0.18; 0.54), there was no strong association with diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, or hypertension. This would suggest a 7 bpm higher heart rate in those who smoke 20 cigarettes/day. CONCLUSIONS: This Mendelian randomization meta-analysis supports a causal association of smoking heaviness with higher level of resting heart rate, but not with blood pressure. These findings suggest that part of the cardiovascular risk of smoking may operate through increasing resting heart rate.

Typology of "Fatigue" by Heart Rate Variability Analysis in Elite Nordic-skiers.

This study investigated changes in heart rate variability (HRV) in elite Nordic-skiers to characterize different types of "fatigue" in 27 men and 30 women surveyed from 2004 to 2008. R-R intervals were recorded at rest during 8 min supine (SU) followed by 7 min standing (ST). HRV parameters analysed were powers of low (LF), high (HF) frequencies, (LF+HF) (ms(2)) and heart rate (HR, bpm). In the 1 063 HRV tests performed, 172 corresponded to a "fatigue" state and the first were considered for analysis. 4 types of "fatigue" (F) were identified: 1. F(HF(-)LF(-))SU_ST for 42 tests: decrease in LFSU (- 46%), HFSU (- 70%), LFST (- 43%), HFST (- 53%) and increase in HRSU (+ 15%), HRST (+ 14%). 2. F(LF(+) SULF(-) ST) for 8 tests: increase in LFSU (+ 190%) decrease in LFST (- 84%) and increase in HRST (+ 21%). 3. F(HF(-) SUHF(+) ST) for 6 tests: decrease in HFSU (- 72%) and increase in HFST (+ 501%). 4. F(HF(+) SU) for only 1 test with an increase in HFSU (+ 2161%) and decrease in HRSU (- 15%). Supine and standing HRV patterns were independently modified by "fatigue". 4 "fatigue"-shifted HRV patterns were statistically sorted according to differently paired changes in the 2 postures. This characterization might be useful for further understanding autonomic rearrangements in different "fatigue" conditions.

Radiothérapie « flash » à très haut débit de dose : un moyen d'augmenter l'indice thérapeutique par minimisation des dommages aux tissus sains [Ultrahigh dose-rate, "flash" irradiation minimizes the side-effects of radiotherapy].

PURPOSE: Pencil beam scanning and filter free techniques may involve dose-rates considerably higher than those used in conventional external-beam radiotherapy. Our purpose was to investigate normal tissue and tumour responses in vivo to short pulses of radiation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: C57BL/6J mice were exposed to bilateral thorax irradiation using pulsed (at least 40Gy/s, flash) or conventional dose-rate irradiation (0.03Gy/s or less) in single dose. Immunohistochemical and histological methods were used to compare early radio-induced apoptosis and the development of lung fibrosis in the two situations. The response of two human (HBCx-12A, HEp-2) tumour xenografts in nude mice and one syngeneic, orthotopic lung carcinoma in C57BL/6J mice (TC-1 Luc+), was monitored in both radiation modes. RESULTS: A 17Gy conventional irradiation induced pulmonary fibrosis and activation of the TGF-beta cascade in 100% of the animals 24-36 weeks post-treatment, as expected, whereas no animal developed complications below 23Gy flash irradiation, and a 30Gy flash irradiation was required to induce the same extent of fibrosis as 17Gy conventional irradiation. Cutaneous lesions were also reduced in severity. Flash irradiation protected vascular and bronchial smooth muscle cells as well as epithelial cells of bronchi against acute apoptosis as shown by analysis of caspase-3 activation and TUNEL staining. In contrast, the antitumour effectiveness of flash irradiation was maintained and not different from that of conventional irradiation. CONCLUSION: Flash irradiation shifted by a large factor the threshold dose required to initiate lung fibrosis without loss of the antitumour efficiency, suggesting that the method might be used to advantage to minimize the complications of radiotherapy.

Prevalence and Diagnostic Approach to Sleep Apnea in Hemodialysis Patients: A Population Study.

BACKGROUND: Previous observations found a high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the hemodialysis population, but the best diagnostic approach remains undefined. We assessed OSA prevalence and performance of available screening tools to propose a specific diagnostic algorithm. METHODS: 104 patients from 6 Swiss hemodialysis centers underwent polygraphy and completed 3 OSA screening scores: STOP-BANG, Berlin's Questionnaire, and Adjusted Neck Circumference. The OSA predictors were identified on a derivation population and used to develop the diagnostic algorithm, which was validated on an independent population. RESULTS: We found 56% OSA prevalence (AHI ≥ 15/h), which was largely underdiagnosed. Screening scores showed poor performance for OSA screening (ROC areas 0.538 [SE 0.093] to 0.655 [SE 0.083]). Age, neck circumference, and time on renal replacement therapy were the best predictors of OSA and were used to develop a screening algorithm, with higher discriminatory performance than classical screening tools (ROC area 0.831 [0.066]). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the high OSA prevalence and highlights the low diagnosis rate of this treatable cardiovascular risk factor in the hemodialysis population. Considering the poor performance of OSA screening tools, we propose and validate a specific algorithm to identify hemodialysis patients at risk for OSA for whom further sleep investigations should be considered.

Soldiers in a stingless bee: work rate and task repertoire suggest they are an elite force

The differentiation of workers into morphological subcastes (e.g., soldiers) represents an important evolutionary transition and is thought to improve division of labor in social insects. Soldiers occur in many ant and termite species, where they make up a small proportion of the workforce. A common assumption of worker caste evolution is that soldiers are behavioral specialists. Here, we report the first test of the "rare specialist" hypothesis in a eusocial bee. Colonies of the stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula are defended by a small group of morphologically differentiated soldiers. Contrary to the rare specialist hypothesis, we found that soldiers worked more (+34%-41%) and performed a greater variety of tasks (+23%-34%) than other workers, particularly early in life. Our results suggest a "rare elite" function of soldiers in T. angustula, that is, that they perform a disproportionately large amount of the work. Division of labor was based on a combination of temporal and physical castes, but soldiers transitioned faster from one task to the next. We discuss why the rare specialist assumption might not hold in species with a moderate degree of worker differentiation.