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Organizations with a mission that extends \"beyond profit\" to achieve broader objectives are becoming increasingly common. This paper studies such hybrid entities—firms that value the profits they generate, as well as the utility they provide to customers—and details their implications for industry disclosure practices. The findings demonstrate that disclosure incentives are perturbed not just from being a hybrid entity, but also from competing with such entities. Accounting for both competitive and disclosure effects, the paper then assesses the circumstances under which a hybrid firm is economically viable and derives the ensuing equilibrium industry composition. As such, we show that the presence of firms with objectives beyond profit can be an endogenous characteristic of many industries.

Critical articles on E.V. Ramaswami Naicker, 1878-1973, social reformer from Tamil Nadu, India; previously published in English by \"The Wire\", an internet magazine.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify, model, analyze and prioritize the barriers in implementing sustainable practices in rubber products manufacturing industry in Kerala, a state in South India. This research provides a more reliable quantitative measure of association of the barriers in the implementation of sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector.Design/methodology/approachInterpretive structural modeling (ISM) is used to develop the hierarchical relationships among the barriers in the implementation of sustainable supply chain practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. The hierarchical structure among the barriers is framed using the experts’ opinion. Cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to the classification (MICMAC) analysis is integrated with the output of ISM to classify the barriers into different categories based on the driving power and the dependence power. The driving power and the dependence power of the barriers obtained from ISM constitute two criteria for prioritizing the barriers. The change management required is considered as the third criterion. The fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process (F-AHP) methodology is adopted to prioritize the barriers based on these three criteria.FindingsThe hierarchical relationship obtained through ISM methodology shows that lack of government initiatives and lack of benchmark on sustainability measurement in Indian conditions are the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the rubber products manufacturing sector. These barriers lead to the lack of management commitment for the implementation of sustainable practices in the organizations under study. The prioritization obtained through the F-AHP method suggests that lack of top-level management commitment, lack of motivation, lack of government initiatives and high initial cost of implementation are some of the major barriers in implementing sustainable practices in the organizations.Research limitations/implicationsIn the application of the ISM methodology, the contextual relationship between the barriers specified by the experts and their preferences may involve bias. Another limitation of this research is that the modeling and prioritization of the barriers are executed based on the opinion of experts from rubber product manufacturing companies in one state only.Originality/valueTo the best knowledge of the authors, this research is the first study on the identification and prioritization of the barriers in sustainable supply chain implementation in the rubber products manufacturing sector. Modeling the inter-relationship among the barriers using ISM technique and prioritizing the barriers using F-AHP are the novel features of the contributions of this work.

Over the past couple of centuries, with the increase in the significance of the railways to the economy, the complexity of the railway network and consequently the decision making involved and the number of problems faced has only increased. Among the host of problems in railways management, one of the most important is the locomotive assignment problem (LAP). The LAP is as old as the railways itself. The objective of the LAP is to assign a fleet of locomotives at minimum cost to pre-scheduled trains subject to a host of constraints. Most of the models in literature either work on improving the efficiency of solving the LAP or attempt to solve the three levels of LAP separately. Our attempt in this paper is to arrive at a linear mathematical model that integrates the strategic, tactical and operational level aspects of the LAP. We also demonstrate that by the addition of a valid inequality, the lower bounds can be improved substantially resulting in a substantial reduction in solution times for the problem instances. Further, we develop a Dijkstra’s algorithm-based heuristic to test the problem instances and compare the solution times and quality of solutions. Finally, we develop a case based on Southern Zone of the Indian Railways and test the heuristic to solve the LAP for this zone.

The world is producing electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) more than ever before. According to a UN study, between 2009 and 2014, the global annual production of electronic waste has been approximately fixed at 42 million tonnes. The improper and unscientific disposal of e-waste is a big threat to the environment. The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for the network design of a multi-product, multi-echelon reverse logistics system. Different recovery options such as remanufacturing, repairing and recycling are considered in this study. Based on the residual value of the used product, the returns are graded into two categories—low product residual value (PRV) and high PRV returns. Although the process of grading results in additional grading costs, it assists the decision maker in choosing appropriate recovery option. An integer linear programming formulation is used to model and solve the problem. Two commonly used consumer electronic goods, mobile phones and digital cameras, are considered for validation. The proposed model determines the optimal number and location of different facilities to be established. By way of explicit consideration of the product structure, the analysis is carried out down to the level of components across the different stages of the supply chain. Further, detailed analysis is performed to determine minimum quantities of high PRV returns for a remanufacturing facility to be economically viable. The results provide interesting information about the relevance of quantum of products with high PRV on the network design decisions. Also, the results underscore the importance of transportation costs on the overall profitability of the reverse supply chain.

BACKGROUND: Metamemory can be described as an intentional endeavor to guide or control one's memory processes. In other words, awareness and knowledge of one's own memory process and strategies for using the memories effectively. Planning, allocating cognitive resources, selecting strategies, assessing understanding, and evaluating performance all rely heavily on metamemorial information. For efficient learning, good memory abilities are necessary. This study aimed to understand metamemory functioning and to see if there were any gender differences in metamemory functioning among medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted by collecting data from 350 medical students using the Memory Functioning Questionnaire in 2021. The sample group was selected from medical colleges in South India such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh using a purposive sampling technique. This questionnaire focused on the seriousness of forgetting, the rate at which people recalled things over time, and frequency of use of mnemonics and techniques that assist memory. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, correlation, and regression were used for analysis. RESULTS: There was a significant difference based on gender among medical students in general memory functioning and frequency of forgetting (P < 0.001). Similarly, it was also found that gender was a major predictor of general memory functioning and frequency of forgetting among medical students (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Most medical students believe they have a minor memory issue. Even if the majority of medical students forget information, the vast majority of them believe they have an exceptional memory. Gender acts as a significant predictor of general memory performance and forgetfulness.

Tissue microarray analysis confirmed higher dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) expression in prostate cancer (PCa) compared to benign and normal prostate tissues. DDAH1 regulates nitric oxide (NO) production by degrading endogenous nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). This study examined whether DDAH1 has any physiological role in PCa progression. Using overexpression of DDAH1 in PCa (PC3 and LNCaP) cell lines, we found that DDAH1 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion by lowering ADMA levels, as well as increasing NO production. VEGF, HIF-1α and iNOS were upregulated in DDAH1 expressing cells as result of elevated NO. DDAH1 increased secretion of pro-angiogenic signals bFGF and IL-8, into conditioned media. Treatment of DDAH1-positive PCa cells with NOS inhibitors (L-NAME and 1400 W) attenuated DDAH1 activity to promote cell growth. Xenografts derived from these cells grew significantly faster (> twofold) than those derived from control cells. Proliferation rate of cells stably expressing mutant DDAH1 was same as control cells unlike wild-type DDAH1-positive PCa cells. Xenograft tumors derived from mutant-positive cells did not differ from control tumors. VEGF, HIF-1α and iNOS expression did not differ in DDAH1 mutant-positive tumors compared to control tumors, but was upregulated in wild-type DDAH1 overexpressing tumors. Furthermore, CD31 immunostaining on xenograft tissues demonstrated that DDAH1 tumors had high endothelial content than mutant DDAH1 tumors. These data suggest that DDAH1 is an important mediator of PCa progression and NO/DDAH pathway needs to be considered in developing therapeutic strategies targeted at PCa.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate whether renewable energy initiatives recently developed and implemented in Latin American and Caribbean countries are consistent with their national resource endowments, policy goals, and the general postulates of economic theory. Most classical and neoclassical theories suggest that international trade enhances economic efficiency and welfare of both parties involved in the exchange when they focus on producing and distributing products and services in which they have a comparative advantage. To achieve this goal, we analyze ethanol policy drivers using panel data from four major economies—Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Since there is no universally accepted measure of comparative advantage, three separate models with different indicators—relative feedstock price, comparative export performance, and revealed comparative advantage—along with control variables, including the availability of production resources such as land and farm labor, are estimated. As expected, results show that the comparative advantage in feedstock production was one of the crucial factors in determining biofuel policy development and implementation in the four countries.

Background and aimsPeripancreatic fat necrosis occurs frequently in necrotising pancreatitis. Distinguishing markers from mediators of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) is important since targeting mediators may improve outcomes. We evaluated potential agents in human pancreatic necrotic collections (NCs), pseudocysts (PCs) and pancreatic cystic neoplasms and used pancreatic acini, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and an acute pancreatitis (AP) model to determine SAP mediators.MethodsWe measured acinar and PBMC injury induced by agents increased in NCs and PCs. Outcomes of caerulein pancreatitis were studied in lean rats coadministered interleukin (IL)-1β and keratinocyte chemoattractant/growth-regulated oncogene, triolein alone or with the lipase inhibitor orlistat.ResultsNCs had higher fatty acids, IL-8 and IL-1β versus other fluids. Lipolysis of unsaturated triglyceride and resulting unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) oleic and linoleic acids induced necro-apoptosis at less than half the concentration in NCs but other agents did not do so at more than two times these concentrations. Cytokine coadministration resulted in higher pancreatic and lung inflammation than caerulein alone, but only triolein coadministration caused peripancreatic fat stranding, higher cytokines, UFAs, multisystem organ failure (MSOF) and mortality in 97% animals, which were prevented by orlistat.ConclusionsUFAs, IL-1β and IL-8 are elevated in NCs. However, UFAs generated via peripancreatic fat lipolysis causes worse inflammation and MSOF, converting mild AP to SAP.