Each specific variable should be given a quantifiable weight so there are no complaints and bickering at the end of the season.

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We then assigned each level of performance a number from zero to 10. (The highest one-tenth in each category received a 10, the second tenth a 9, and so on.) The higher the number, we assumed, the more pain that industry would suffer with respect to that specific variable.

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For instance, Apple offers customers up to 18 months interest-free on purchases on a card from Barclaycard US. But if you don't pay off that specific purchase in the interest-free period, you'll face a variable annual percentage rate that's currently about 23%, according to the Apple website.

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Sangamo scientists have engineered a library of 10, 000 fingers by tinkering with the variable region, designing it so that it will seek out, recognize and bind to a specific segment of DNA for a specific gene.

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