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In this article we develop a new conceptual framework capturing culture's influence in international business negotiations. The new framework includes six major constructs, namely, Negotiator's Goals, Negotiator's Inclinations, Negotiator's Qualifications, Nontask Activities, Negotiation Processes, and Negotiation Outcomes. The new framework conceptualizes 12 relationships among the six key constructs. The six constructs and the 12 relationships are grounded in cultural frameworks and theories, such as the works of Edward Hall and Geert Hofstede. Managerial implications of the research are discussed.

Importance Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is known to be more prevalent among males than females in the general population. Although overall risk of recurrence of ASD among siblings has been estimated to be between 6.1% and 24.7%, information on sex-specific recurrence patterns is lacking. Objective To estimate high-confidence sex-specific recurrence rates of ASD among siblings. Design, Setting, and Participants This observational study used an administrative database to measure the incidence of ASD among children in 1 583 271 families (37 507 with at least 1 diagnosis of ASD) enrolled in commercial health care insurance plans at a large US managed health care company from January 1, 2008, through February 29, 2016. Families in the study had 2 children who were observed for at least 12 months between 4 and 18 years of age. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary measure of ASD recurrence was defined as the diagnosis of ASD in a younger sibling of an older sibling with an ASD diagnosis. Results Among the 3 166 542 children (1 547 266 females and 1 619 174 males; mean [SD] age, 11.2 [4.7] years) in the study, the prevalence of ASD was 1.96% (95% CI, 1.94%-1.98%) among males and 0.50% (95% CI, 0.49%-0.51%) among females. When a male was associated with risk in the family, ASD was diagnosed in 4.2% (95% CI, 3.8%-4.7%) of female siblings and 12.9% (95% CI, 12.2%-13.6%) of male siblings. When a female was associated with risk in the family, ASD was diagnosed in 7.6% (95% CI, 6.5%-8.9%) of female siblings and 16.7% (95% CI, 15.2%-18.4%) of male siblings. Conclusions and Relevance These findings are in agreement with the higher rates of ASD observed among males than among females in the general population. Our study provides more specific guidance for the screening and counseling of families and may help inform future investigations into the environmental and genetic factors that confer risk of ASD.

Background: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) leads to malabsorption and metabolic bone disease (MBD). Alcoholic CP (ACP) and tropical CP (TCP) are the two common types of CP. Objective: We investigated the presence of occult MBD in patients with CP and compared the same between ACP and TCP. Materials and Methods: In this cross‑sectional, observational study, we included serial patients of CP in different stages and are grouped as ACP (Group 1; n = 67) and TCP (Group 2; n = 35). We determined serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, 25‑hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by dual‑energy X‑ray absorptiometry in the neck of the left femur. MBD was defined by the presence of either low bone mass (Z‑score 70 pg/mL) was seen in 14 patients with 25OHD deficiency and low calcium (

Corporate governance is one of the most important legislative domains of a business organization which has an impact on its profitability, growth and even sustainability of business. As business circumstances are vary the investors are differ with respect to incentives, risk-attitude, and different incentive strategies, the outcome of this process emerge as a kind of corporate governance practices. In order to protect investors from financial irregularities, misleading and fraudulent activities carried out by the firm the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission passed the act called Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), whereas in India the Clause 49 of SEBI, is many times termed as Indian version of SOX but it has also been criticized for not being holistic in nature. Many of the corporate governance regulations are scattered in various clauses of Indian Companies act too. In this paper we aim to compare SOX and Indian regulations on corporate governance. We discuss the similarities, differences, areas of SOX superiority and suggest various improvements which if incorporated in Indian laws may lead to achievement of comprehensive regulation on corporate governance.

Background and aims Early ( Patients and methods Consecutive patients admitted within 24 hours of caustic ingestion between 2009 and 2014 underwent EGD and had their mucosal changes graded. Injuries of grade ≤ 2a were classified as mild and ≥ 2b were classified as severe. Patients were followed up for the development of cicatrization and managed per protocol. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated to compare day 1 and day 5 EGD findings. Results A total of 62 patients (35 men; mean age 33 ± 15) underwent both day 1 and day 5 EGDs. Antropyloric stenosis developed in 16 patients, esophageal strictures in nine, and four had both esophageal and antropyloric strictures. Compared with day 1 EGD, endoscopic grading of severe injury on day 5 had higher specificity (83 % vs. 65 %), higher PPV (60 % vs. 41 %), and higher positive LR (5.65 vs. 2.66) for predicting the development of esophageal stricture. Similarly, day 5 endoscopic grading had higher specificity (95 % vs. 61 %), higher PPV (88 % vs. 54 %), and higher positive LR (16 vs. 2.5) for predicting the development of antropyloric stenosis. Conclusion Endoscopic assessment on day 5 is a better predictor of esophageal and gastric cicatrization than day 1 EGD, which significantly overestimates the grade of injury.

Background: Liver dysfunction leads to endocrine disturbance due to the alteration in protein metabolism or synthesis. We studied the presence of occult endocrine dysfunction in liver cirrhosis and compared the same with underlying etiology. Materials and Methods: We evaluated thirty patients with liver cirrhosis in this cross-sectional, observational study. All subjects were assessed for pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, and gonadal function. The patients were divided into Group 1 (cirrhosis, n = 30) and Group 2 (controls, n = 15) and the data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. Results: The study participants (20 males, 10 females) had a mean age of 54.5 ± 12.4 years and duration of the cirrhosis 5.1 ± 2.7 years. Four patients were in Child Class A, 11 and 15 patients were in Child Classes B and C, respectively. Eleven out of thirty patients (37%) had endocrine disorders, that include subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 3), primary hypothyroidism (n = 1), Sick Euthyroid syndrome (n = 3), central hypothyroidism (n = 2), secondary hypogonadism (n = 3) and growth hormone deficiency in three patients. Two patients had partial hypopituitarism and one patient had complete hypopituitarism. Conclusion: Occult endocrine dysfunction of thyroid and gonadal axes is common in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. The hormonal abnormalities are not different based on the etiology of the cirrhosis.

Objective High paraaortic lymph nodes superior to the renal vein are often involved by metastasis from advanced ovarian cancer, but are difficult to dissect. We developed a novel surgical technique for removing these nodes. Methods The ascending colon is displaced from the right paracolic gutter. A retroperitoneal incision is made cranially from the ileocecal region along Monk's white line (fusion fascia) dorsal to the ascending colon. Incising the fusion fascia toward the root of the right renal vein from inside Gerota's fascia allows separation of the right kidney and mobilization of the ascending colon, partly exposing the inferior vena cava. Then the inferior vena cava below the renal vein is exposed by dissecting the right ovarian vein. Next, Kocher's maneuver is performed [1,2]. After mobilizing the duodenum, the inferior vena cava can be fully exposed below the left hepatic lobe. Then the peritoneum is incised from near the aortic bifurcation along the inferior mesenteric vein toward the ligament of Treitz, allowing complete mobilization of the small intestine and right hemicolon. Placing these viscera extra-abdominally in isolation bags provides excellent visualization of the entire aorta from the superior mesenteric artery to common iliac artery. Results This method can completely remove the high paraaortic nodes, followed by the paraaortic nodes inferior to the renal vein, without complications. Conclusions This surgical technique for dissection of the high paraaortic lymph nodes is convenient, safe, and easy to learn. It is considered to be advantageous for management of ovarian, primary peritoneal, or fallopian tube cancer.

The complexity of the human exposome—the totality of environmental exposures encountered from birth to death—motivates systematic, high-throughput approaches to discover new environmental determinants of disease. In this review, we describe the state of science in analyzing the human exposome and provide recommendations for the public health community to consider in dealing with analytic challenges of exposome-based biomedical research. We describe extant and novel analytic methods needed to associate the exposome with critical health outcomes and contextualize the data-centered challenges by drawing parallels to other research endeavors such as human genomics research. We discuss efforts for training scientists who can bridge public health, genomics, and biomedicine in informatics and statistics. If an exposome data ecosystem is brought to fruition, it will likely play a role as central as genomic science has had in molding the current and new generations of biomedical researchers, computational scientists, and public health research programs.

Medicine is in the midst of becoming a full-fledged information science. From the first practices of humorism to contemporary uses of genomic sequencing to tailor anticancer therapy, clinical practice and research have been shaped by tectonic shifts in the demand for storing, retrieving, and analyzing data. The manipulation of large-scale data is a defining feature of precision medicine, a movement to individualize diagnosis and therapy catalyzed in early 2015 by President Obama, with similar efforts taking place worldwide. In this chapter, we review the intellectual foundations of precision medicine from nosology to human genetics, the central role that bioinformatics has played, and how progress might be accelerated in the era of citizen science, where the general public is increasingly interacting with heterogeneous streams of personal and public data.

Contrast enhanced computerized tomography (CECT) is used to determine severity of acute pancreatitis based upon the presence and extent of necrosis. However limitations do exist precluding its applicability in renal failure. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging for cardiac perfusion shows good uptake of N-13 ammonia ((13)NH3) metabolites in pancreas owing to high perfusion.To evaluate the role of (13)NH3 PET/CT in acute pancreatitis and compare it with CECT in diagnosing and quantifying pancreatic necrosis.Patients presenting within 1 week of acute pancreatitis were studied. Static PET images were acquired after intravenous injection of 370-740 MBq of (13)NH3. (13)NH3 PET/CT was followed by CECT in the absence of renal impairment. Maximum standard-uptake-value (SUVmax) of pancreas (P) and liver (L) were taken and their ratio (P/L) was estimated to determine perfusion. Areas within pancreas with no tracer uptake were considered necrotic. These patients were managed as per institutional protocol. Patients undergoing (13)NH3 PET/CT for coronary artery disease were used as controls.29 patients (72% males) were studied of whom 6 had elevated serum creatinine. (13)NH3 PET/CT was done in all patients along with 9 controls while CECT was carried out after PET/CT in 23 patients. Median levels of SUVmax (P/L) in the controls, uninvolved pancreas and necrotic areas were 1.0 (0.86-1.03), 0.66 (0.50-0.92) and 0.12 (0.07-0.21) respectively (p 0.001). Necrosis estimation was similar in 22/23 patients without renal failure while in one patient only (13)NH3 PET/CT picked up necrosis (30%). 5/6 patients with renal failure had necrosis on (13)NH(3) PET/CT which was confirmed on surgery or subsequent CECT after improvement of renal failure.This pilot study is the first in literature to diagnose necrosis in patients with acute pancreatitis using (13)NH3 PET/CT. With minimal additional radiation burden, it is possible to estimate the absolute tissue perfusion as well. With no adverse renal side effects, this can be an alternative to CECT in patients with renal failure giving similar information. It has good agreement with CECT with a good interobserver acceptability.

This research paper makes three important contributions with managerial implications concerning the issue of bank service switching behavior. First, it identifies four overall dimensions of customer satisfaction with bank services. These are personnel related considerations, financial considerations (interest earnings and interest payments), environment related considerations (atmospherics), and convenience related considerations (ATM and hours). Next, we develop and test some hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between customer satisfaction and bank service switching behavior as it is mediated by the importance of a particular bank service to a particular customer and by the nature of competitive offerings for different types of banking services available from other banks. Based on the empirical results of a large scale field study, we provide several theoretical and managerial implications.

Organizations of today face numerous challenges, and training their sales force is definitely high on its agenda. This paper endeavors to contribute to the sales training field by providing a comprehensive state-of-the art and contemporary review through the study of publications in sales training research in the last 30 years (1985-2014). The specific objectives of the review are to study the chronological trends and structural distribution of sales training research in terms of the research type, research focus, methods, research themes and other issues such as methodology, analytical techniques, geographical region etc. Findings of 56 articles on sales training research published in the last three decades are analyzed and directions for future research are identified. Las organizaciones actuales se enfrentan a numerosos retos, siendo prioritaria en su agenda la formación de su fuerza de ventas. El presente documento pretende contribuir en este campo, mediante la aportación de una revisión amplia, vanguardista y contemporánea del estudio de las publicaciones sobre la investigación de la formación en ventas durante los últimos 30 años (1985-2014). Los objetivos específicos de la revisión son el estudio de las tendencias cronológicas y la distribución estructural de la investigación de la formación en ventas, en términos de tipo, objetivo y temas de la investigación, así como otras cuestiones tales como la metodología, las técnicas analíticas, la región geográfica, etc. Se analizan los hallazgos de 56 artículos sobre investigación de la formación en ventas, publicados durante los últimos treinta años, y se identifican las orientaciones de la investigación futura.

Organizations of today face numerous challenges, and training their sales force is definitely high on its agenda. This paper endeavors to contribute to the sales training field by providing a comprehensive stateof- the art and contemporary review through the study of publications in sales training research in the last 30 years (1985-2014). The specific objectives of the review are to study the chronological trends and structural distribution of sales training research in terms of the research type, research focus, methods, research themes and other issues such as methodology, analytical techniques, geographical region etc. Findings of 56 articles on sales training research published in the last three decades are analyzed and directions for future research are identified.Las organizaciones actuales se enfrentan a numerosos retos, siendo prioritaria en su agenda la formación de su fuerza de ventas. El presente documento pretende contribuir en este campo, mediante la aportación de una revisión amplia, vanguardista y contemporánea del estudio de las publicaciones sobre la investigación de la formación en ventas durante los últimos 30 años (1985-2014). Los objetivos específicos de la revisión son el estudio de las tendencias cronológicas y la distribución estructural de la investigación de la formación en ventas, en términos de tipo, objetivo y temas de la investigación, así como otras cuestiones tales como la metodología, las técnicas analíticas, la región geográfica, etc. Se analizan los hallazgos de 56 artículos sobre investigación de la formación en ventas, publicados durante los últimos treinta años, y se identifican las orientaciones de la investigación futura.

A conceptual model specifying consumer satisfaction with banking services and importance of services as the critical variables in determining likelihood of a consumer switching from a bank to its competitor. The model is further expanded to include various determinants that may jointly influence the likelihood of switching entire set of banking services. Several hypotheses are proposed in this context and a plan to test the same via a field survey is also presented.

The transition economies of Eastern Europe present both the opportunities and challenges for companies operating in these markets. On one hand, these countries have a large number of technology savvy young consumers, and on the other, the markets must also take into consideration the macro-environment of a country and market conditions which make the use of certain market technologies more feasible and attractive compared to others. It is certainly true in terms of the timing for introduction of various technologies in a country. Drawing analogy for the “IDITAROD RACE” we develop three different “Sled Dog Team layouts” for market characteristics and technologies for three Eastern European countries, namely, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Albania. The ten market characteristics included in our research are: digital connectivity divide, economic power, demand type, privacy laws, demographics, and competitive conditions, attitude towards technology, institutional maturity, corporate social responsibility, and corruption. The ten marketing technologies included in our research are: digital profiling, segmentation, websites, and search engines marketing, campaign management, content management, social media, mobile application, digital collaborations, and analytics. Company case studies are analyzed and reported for each of these three countries which support the three models presented in our research.Las economías de transición de Europa Oriental presentan a la vez oportunidades y retos para las empresas que operan en dichos mercados. Por un lado, estos países cuentan con un gran número de jóvenes y expertos consumidores tecnológicos y, por otro, los mercados deben tener en cuenta el macroentorno de un país y las condiciones del mercado, que pueden facilitar el uso de ciertas tecnologías y hacerlas más atractivas en comparación con otras. Esto es realmente cierto al elegir la oportunidad para introducir diversas tecnologías en un país. Utilizando la analogía de la “CARRERA IDITAROD”, desarrollamos tres diferentes “disenos de equipos de perros de trineo” para las características del mercado y las tecnologías de tres países del este de Europa, es decir, Eslovaquia, Bulgaria y Albania. Las diez características del mercado que incluimos en nuestra investigación son: clasificación de la conectividad digital, poder económico, tipo de demanda, leyes de privacidad, características demográficas y condiciones competitivas, actitud hacia la tecnología, madurez institucional, responsabilidad social corporativa y corrupción. Las diez tecnologías de marketing incluidas en nuestro estudio son: perfil digital, segmentación, sitios web y marketing de motores de búsqueda, gestión de campanas, gestión de contenidos, medios sociales, aplicación móvil, colaboraciones digitales y analítica. Se analizan y reportan los estudios de los casos empresariales para cada uno de estos tres países, que respaldan los tres modelos presentados en nuestro trabajo de investigación. Europa, es decir, Eslovaquia, Bulgaria y Albania. Las diez características del mercado que incluimos en nuestra investigación son: clasificación de la conectividad digital, poder económico, tipo de demanda, leyes de privacidad, características demográficas y condiciones competitivas, actitud hacia la tecnología, madurez institucional, responsabilidad social corporativa y corrupción.Las diez tecnologías de marketing incluidas en nuestro estudio son: perfil digital, segmentación, sitios web y marketing de motores de búsqueda, gestión de campanas, gestión de contenidos, medios sociales, aplicación móvil, colaboraciones digitales y analítica. Se analizan y reportan los estudios de los casos empresariales para cada uno de estos tres países, que respaldan los tres modelos presentados en nuestro trabajo de investigación.

This study compares between firms in the US mature market economy and in the Polish transitional economy. The study found that Poland's past as a planned economy may continue to hinder interdepartmental connectedness and act as an obstacle to firms in adopting a market orientation. According to the study, for Polish firms, there is less shared information and cooperation across departments, and less shared responsibility for departmental tasks, compared to US firms. The status of marketing in Poland remains that of a junior department, subordinate to influences from functional areas such as finance and accounting, which directed production in the former planned economy. The study supports the hypothesis that Polish firms have lower interdepartmental connectedness than US firms and finds strong support for the relationship between interdepartmental connectedness and firm performance.

PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to develop a traffic demand forecasting model specifically on international sectors from the USA. Also, in this paper, the authors formulate the service positioning matrix (SPM) that enables airlines to accurately position their services and improve their process efficiency.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors explore international sectors and present a traffic demand model specifically for the same. The distribution of demand is assumed to follow a normal distribution and non‐service variables are introduced in the model. The behavior of the passenger has been captured by deriving the zonal income function. The variables have been drawn from microeconomic theory and the traditional gravity model of physics. The key innovations of the paper are fusion of the gravity model and microeconomic theory to develop the traffic demand model, and transformation of income to zonal income by deriving the aggregate zonal demand function; and development of a service positioning matrix for the airline industry.FindingsIn this paper, first, the authors have presented a conceptual model for demand forecasting through usage of zonal income. Second, in recognition of the value add the firm receives by identifying the nature of service and derived customer satisfaction levels, the authors have presented the SPM – a framework to help service providers to position themselves on any one of the four defined states. The empirical work is underway to solidify the conceptions and would provide a robust route demand forecasting model for international route contemplation for airlines operating from the USA and a service positioning matrix.Originality/valueAlthough many airline companies and professional bodies are involved in developing forecasts of air transport demand, detailed analysis of the characteristics of demand for air transport over long‐haul or international routes are less researched. This paper attempts to provide a framework for the airlines to forecast demand specifically on international routes operated from major metros of the USA and position their services by designing the service positioning matrix. The model fuses concepts from physics and micro‐economics to enhance the forecasting capabilities. Major benefits include route contemplation, effective fleet scheduling, decisions on aircraft and fuel purchases, improving service efficiency and developing optimal fare policies.

National cultures still remain different and businesses have to explore and recognize the cultural context to design and implement successful marketing strategies. Cultural differences influence all aspects of international business activities and more so the marketing process as it entails customer satisfaction in a specific cultural context. This paper aims at identifying specific aspects of the impact of communist ideology on culture in the Central and Eastern European countries focusing on Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine, the current state-of-art, and the implications for marketing activities in the region for both western and local marketers. Those are studied in the aspects of consumer behavior, product and brand development, distribution, marketing communications and their impact on doing business in Central and Eastern Europe. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: Website

Objective Insulin resistance (IR) and beta cell dysfunction are the pathophysiological determinants of the diabetes mellitus (DM). We investigated the presence of IR in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and compared the same with the underlying etiology. Methods In this cross-sectional, observational study, we included serial patients of CP presented to our hospital. The study population is in different stages of CP and are grouped as alcoholic CP (Group 1; N = 67) and tropical CP (Group 2; N = 35). IR was estimated by the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) method. The results were analyzed by appropriate statistical methods. Results The study participants (85 M and 17F) had a mean age 40.8 ± 12.6 yr, CP duration 3.7 ± 4.7 yr and body mass index (BMI) of 22.5 ± 3.2 kg/m 2 . DM was seen in 54 patients with average glycosylated hemoglobin of 7.5 ± 1.6%. A total of 9 patients had HOMA-IR more than 3 suggestive of IR with no significant difference between the two groups. The duration of the DM correlated negatively with glycemic parameters and BMI showed a positive correlation with the fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. Conclusion IR was seen in a minority of patients with CP and is not a significant contributor to the pancreatogenic diabetes.