Are There Differences Between Men and Women in Information Technology Innovation Adoption Behaviors: A Theoretical Study

This study explores the impact of gender on Rogers (1995) innovation diffusion characteristics associated with innovation adoption behaviors toward a new information technology innovation adoption. Innovation diffusion theory was used to theoretically extend the information technology adoption literature. Using fourteen propositions a research framework is suggested that draws upon Rogers’ (1995) innovation diffusion characteristics (relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability). The key argument is that Rogers’ innovation diffusion characteristics are differently impacted by gender on their influence on information technology adoption behavior

Impact of Vendor CMMI Capability on User System Success Perception and Its Interaction With Trust in an IT Outsourcing Project

The study investigated relationship between Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) capability of the vendor and user system success perception in IT outsourcing projects. Interaction between trust and CMMI-system success perception relationship was also investigated. Data was collected from IT professionals with background in both CMMI and IT outsourcing. Results reveal that while CMMI had no impact on a user’s system success perception, trust did significantly interact with the relationship between vendor CMMI capability and user system success perception

Glycaemic and weight-loss outcomes of graded doses of canagliflozin in type 2 diabetes — a real-world study

Background. Costs are the most important cause of therapeutic non-compliance. Half canagliflozin (CANA)–300 tablet has lowest cost/mg among all CANA preparations; data are unavailable on efficacy of half CANA-300. This study evaluated weight loss and glycaemic outcomes of 100 mg versus 150 mg versus 300 mg of canagliflozin as part of standard therapy.Methods. Data, retrospectively captured from medical records of two centres in Delhi for patients > 35 years with type-2 diabetes (T2DM), and on canagliflozin, having > 6 months follow-up, were analysed. Patients were in 3-groups depending on canagliflozin dosage: Group 1 on canagliflozin 100 mg/day (1 tablet CANA-100), Group-2 on canagliflozin 150 mg/day (half tablet CANA-300), and Group 3 on canagliflozin 300 mg/day (1 tablet CANA-300). Primary endpoints were glycaemicefficacy and weight-loss.Results. From 3,569 records evaluated, 1,232 people with T2DM on canagliflozin were screened; data from 528 individuals analysed (257, 138 and 133 in Groups: 1, 2 and 3 respectively). People in all three groups were comparable with regards to sex, T2DM duration, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), haemoglobin, creatinine, lipids, albuminuria and medications. Group-2 patients were youngest and had highest BMI. Following 6-months, both absolute and percent weight-loss was significantly higher in Group-2 (–3.5 kg [–6.60–0.00]; –3.62%), followed by Group-3 (–3.0 kg [–5.3 to –0.8]; –3.33%), and lowest in Group-1 (–1.05 kg [–2.85 to –0.17]; –1.31%) (P = 0.002 and 0.014, respectively). Glycaemic efficacy was comparable among groups.Conclusion. Half CANA-300 tablet has comparable glycaemic efficacy and weight-loss compared to single CANA-300 tablet, but superior weight-loss compared to CANA-100

Targeting specific checkpoints in the management of SARS-CoV-2 induced cytokine storm

COVID-19-infected patients require an intact immune system to suppress viral replication and prevent complications. However, the complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection that led to death were linked to the overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines known as cytokine storm syndrome. This article reported the various checkpoints targeted to manage the SARS-CoV-2-induced cytokine storm. The literature search was carried out using PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases. Journal articles that discussed SARS-CoV-2 infection and cytokine storm were retrieved and appraised. Specific checkpoints identified in managing SARS-CoV-2 induced cytokine storm include a decrease in the level of Nod-Like Receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome where drugs such as quercetin and anakinra were effective. Janus kinase-2 and signal transducer and activator of transcription-1 (JAK2/STAT1) signaling pathways were blocked by medicines such as tocilizumab, baricitinib, and quercetin. In addition, inhibition of interleukin (IL)-6 with dexamethasone, tocilizumab, and sarilumab effectively treats cytokine storm and significantly reduces mortality caused by COVID-19. Blockade of IL-1 with drugs such as canakinumab and anakinra, and inhibition of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with zanubrutinib and ibrutinib was also beneficial. These agents' overall mechanisms of action involve a decrease in circulating proinflammatory chemokines and cytokines and or blockade of their receptors. Consequently, the actions of these drugs significantly improve respiration and raise lymphocyte count and PaO2/FiO2 ratio. Targeting cytokine storms' pathogenesis genetic and molecular apparatus will substantially enhance lung function and reduce mortality due to the COVID-19 pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/lifeam2023Pharmacolog

Modern Genomic Tools for Pigeonpea Improvement: Status and Prospects

Pigeonpea owing to its ability to sustain harsh environment and limited input/water requirement remains an excellent remunerative crop in the face of increasing climatic adversities. With nearly 70% share in global pigeonpea production, India is the leading pigeonpea producing country. Since the mid-1900s, constant research efforts directed to improve yield and resistance levels of pigeonpea have resulted in the development and deployment of several commercially accepted cultivars in India, accommodating into diverse agro-climatic zones. However, the crop productivity needs incremental improvements in order to meet the growing nutritional demands, especially in developing countries like India where pigeonpea forms a dominant part of vegetarian diet. Empowering crop improvement strategies with genomic tool kit is imperative to attain the project gains in crop yield. In the context, adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has helped establish a wide range of genomic resources to support pigeonpea breeding, and the existing molecular tool kit includes genome-wide genetic markers, transcriptome/genome assemblies, and candidate genes/QTLs for target traits. Similarly, availability of whole mitochondrial genome sequence and derived DNA markers is immensely relevant in order to furthering the understanding of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) system and hybrid breeding. This chapter covers the progress of developing modern genomic resources in pigeonpea and highlights their vital role in designing future crop breeding schemes

An examination of the role of trust and its interaction with the contextual factors on the relational management of an it outsourcing project

This study investigated the interaction of trust, a core component of relational management, with vendors’ technical capabilities and users’ power-distance-index scores in the relational management of outsourced information technology projects. This is one of the first studies in the information systems literature to acknowledge the critical role played by contextual factors in outsourced information technology projects. Relational management has already been established as a sound governance mechanism; however, not much research has been conducted to determine the environment in which it operates. This study hypothesized that the attributes of certain contextual factors would affect relational management’s efficacy and that relational management would influence the role of contextual factors. In essence, in an outsourced IT project using relational governance mechanism, users’ system-success perceptions were hypothesized to be contingent upon the interplay of relational management and the project’s context. The context was comprised of the technical capability of the vendor measured through CMMI and the power distance cultural values of the user. The results indicated that CMMI did interact with trust in determining users’ system-success perceptions, whereas power-distance values did not interact with trust. This study used a sample of IT professionals with backgrounds in both IT outsourcing and CMMI. Data were collected using an online survey. The study has implications for both academics and practitioners in that IT outsourcing projects do not operate in a vacuum and the surrounding technical and cultural environments can influence users’ perceptions about the likelihood of a project’s success.Ph.D., Information Science -- Drexel University, 201

Relevance Versus Rigor in IS Research: Need to Introduce A New Institution

The need to improve relevance of IS research has been felt for quite some time. This study looksat the previous solutions to improve relevance of IS research to practitioners and offers insightson the reasons as to why they have not been successful. The study proposes introduction of a newinstitution to help practitioners access IS research and use it to their advantage. This newinstitution calls for IT executives to be trained in IS research so that they can extend the basic IStheories to fit the context of their organizations. Possessing intimate knowledge of the context,the executives should be in a position to find the appropriate missing links to add to the coremodel to create a new model that suits the needs of their organization