The roles of opportunity processes in a social business model: insights from China’s e-commerce villages

A social enterprise connects a social purpose with economic rationality and market-based approaches to solve recognized social needs. However, opportunities often far outstrip the resources available to address these needs, making the design of a social business model challenging. It has been suggested that opportunity processes in a social enterprise enable economic, social, and environmental resources to reinforce one another in novel ways. Based on an in-depth case study of a large social enterprise in China, we find that opportunity processes are important components of a social business model. New opportunities are created deliberately while building a social business model, leading to the large-scale mobilization of participation in e-commerce activities. We differentiate endogenous and exogenous opportunities to clarify the roles of various opportunity processes. This study potentially enriches our knowledge of the relationships between opportunity processes and the construction of a successful social business model in the context of e-commerce

An Information Processing Perspective of Digital Social Innovation: Insights from China’s Taobao Villages

Digital social innovation describes new IT-enabled solutions that simultaneously meet a social need and enhance capacity to act. It is an emergent stream of social innovation research and a response to growing social, environmental and demographic challenges. Despite its importance, academic literature is still undeveloped, with ill-defined theoretical boundaries and no coherent knowledge. To address this gap, this study examines how information processing capabilities enable digital social innovation. We conduct an empirical case study on Qing Yan Liu, China’s leading Taobao e-commerce village, an emerging digital social innovation and economic phenomenon in China. From interview data collected from netrepreneurs, we construct a research model that posits information literacy, information immediacy and information liberty, as the required information processing capabilities to achieve digital social innovation. The model represents the first step to better understanding the interrelationships between digital social innovation, netrepreneurs, social enterprise and social entrepreneurship

IT-Enabled Social Innovation in China’s Taobao Villages: The Role of Netrepreneurs

We present a model of IT-enabled social innovation. Our model draws on the theoretical lens of social shaping of technology and the role of villagers-turned-netrepreneurs, as reference actors in the context of rural e-commerce development. The model is built on stage-wise observations of intermediary roles that villagers play and how these roles enhance or decrease in importance in the biography of rural to e-commerce villages’ transformations across China in recent years. In this research-in-progress paper, we present a case study of Daji, China’s first “Taobao performance costumes town”, located in rural Shandong province. Our preliminary model prescribes three mechanisms− advancing, authenticating and attaching−that are enacted by reference actors in the process of negotiating rural e-commerce development and resurrecting heritage in their communities. Our model builds on conjectural discussion in recent IS research on the expanding role of the users in influencing the development of IT-enabled social innovation

EZH2 RIP-seq Identifies Tissue-specific Long Non-coding RNAs.

BackgroundPolycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes histone methylation at H3 Lys27, and plays crucial roles during development and diseases in numerous systems. Its catalytic subunit EZH2 represents a key nuclear target for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that emerging to be a novel class of epigenetic regulator and participate in diverse cellular processes. LncRNAs are characterized by high tissue-specificity; however, little is known about the tissue profile of the EZH2- interacting lncRNAs.ObjectiveHere we performed a global screening for EZH2-binding lncRNAs in tissues including brain, lung, heart, liver, kidney, intestine, spleen, testis, muscle and blood by combining RNA immuno- precipitation and RNA sequencing. We identified 1328 EZH2-binding lncRNAs, among which 470 were shared in at least two tissues while 858 were only detected in single tissue. An RNA motif with specific secondary structure was identified in a number of lncRNAs, albeit not in all EZH2-binding lncRNAs. The EZH2-binding lncRNAs fell into four categories including intergenic lncRNA, antisense lncRNA, intron-related lncRNA and promoter-related lncRNA, suggesting diverse regulations of both cis and trans-mechanisms. A promoter-related lncRNA Hnf1aos1 bound to EZH2 specifically in the liver, a feature same as its paired coding gene Hnf1a, further confirming the validity of our study. In addition to the well known EZH2-binding lncRNAs like Kcnq1ot1, Gas5, Meg3, Hotair and Malat1, majority of the lncRNAs were firstly reported to be associated with EZH2.ConclusionOur findings provide a profiling view of the EZH2-interacting lncRNAs across different tissues, and suggest critical roles of lncRNAs during cell differentiation and maturation

Evaluating the Efficacy of VitalStim Electrical Stimulation Combined with Swallowing Function Training for Treating Dysphagia following an Acute Stroke

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the clinical efficacy of VitalStim electrical stimulation combined with swallowing function training for patients with dysphagia following an acute stroke. METHODS: Seventy-two patients with dysphagia following an acute stroke were admitted to our hospital and were further divided into two groups using prospective research methods. There were 36 cases in each group according to the random number table method. The control group received conventional medical treatment and swallowing function training while the experimental group received conventional medical treatment and VitalStim electrical stimulation combined with swallowing function training. RESULTS: The overall response rate of the experimental group (94.44%) was higher than that of the control group (77.78%), and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). Compared with before treatment, the upward and forward movement speeds of the hyoid bone, anterior movement speed, the grading score of the Kubota drinking water test, Caiteng's grading score, serum superoxide dismutase, 5-hydroxytryptamine, and norepinephrine levels, Fugl-Meyer Assessment score, and multiple quality of life scores of the two groups showed improvement after treatment. While the standard swallowing assessment score, serum malondialdehyde level, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score decreased, the aforementioned indices showed a significant improvement in the experimental group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that VitalStim electrical stimulation combined with swallowing function is effective for treating dysphagia following an acute stroke. It can effectively improve swallowing, neurological, and limb motor functions, reduce complications, promote physical recovery, and improve overall quality of life of patients

The genetic contribution of CIDEA polymorphisms, haplotypes and loci interaction to obesity in a Han Chinese population

To investigate the association of tag-SNPs and haplotype structures of the CIDEA gene with obesity in a Han Chinese population. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1154588/V115F, rs4796955/SNP1, rs8092502/SNP2, rs12962340/SNP3 and rs7230480/SNP4) in the CIDEA gene were genotyped in a case-control study. Genotyping was performed using the sequenom matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry iPLEX platform. There were significant differences between the obese and control groups in genotype distributions of V115F (P\u3e0.001), SNP1 (P = 0.006) and SNP2 (P = 0.005). Carriers of V115F-TT, SNP1-GG and SNP2-CC genotypes had a 2.84-fold (95 % CI 1.73-4.66), 2.19-fold (95 % CI 1.09-4.38) and 4.37-fold (95 % CI 1.21-15.08) increased risk for obesity, respectively. Haplotype analysis showed that GTTC (SNP1/ SNP2/V115F/SNP4) had 1.41-fold (95 % CI 1.02-1.95) increased risk for obesity; whereas, haplotype TTGC had 0.48-fold (95 % CI 0.24-0.96) decreased risk for obesity. Using the multifactor dimensionality reduction method, the best model including SNP1, SNP2, V115F and SNP4 polymorphisms was identified with a maximum testing accuracy to 59.32 % and a perfect cross-validation consistency of 10/10 (P = 0.011). Logistic analysis indicated that there was a significant interaction between SNP1 and V115F associated with obesity. Subjects having both genotypes of SNP1/GG and V115F/TT were more susceptible to obesity in the Han Chinese population (OR 2.66, 95 %: 1.22-5.80). Genotypes of V115F/TT, SNP1/ GG and SNP2/CC and haplotype GTTC of CIDEA gene were identified as risk factors for obesity in the Han Chinese population. The interaction between SNP1 and V115F could play a joint role in the development of obesity

Isolation and molecular characterization of RcSERK1: A Rosa canina gene transcriptionally induced during initiation of protocorm-like bodies

A somatic embryogensis receptor-like kinase (SERK) gene was isolated from protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Rosa canina by a rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approach and was designated as RcSERK1. The RcSERK1 encodes a protein of 626 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 68.79 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 5.65. The amino acid sequence of RcSERK1 shares all the characteristic features of a SERK protein, including the signal peptide (SP), the leucine zipper (LZ), the five leucine-rich repeats (LRRs), the pro-rich domain containing the so-called Ser-Pro- Pro (SPP) motif, the transmembrane domain (TM), the kinase domain and the C-terminal domain. The transcripts of RcSERK1 were more enriched in PLBs than in rhizoids and callus, but not detected in leaflets (incubated under dark and before producing callus) and the regenerated shoots. Subcellular localization indicated that the fluorescence of RcSERK1-GFP was recorded in the plasma membrane. We argue that RcSERK1 is a Leu-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK) and plasma  membrane localization protein.Keywords: somatic embryogensis receptor-like kinase (SERK)1, protocorm-like bodies (PLBs), Rosa canina, RACE, RcSERK1

Dumping syndrome after bariatric surgery in a pregnant woman: A case report

Dumping syndrome after bariatric surgery is common. However, it is rarely seen during pregnancy because patients are usually advised to avoid pregnancy immediately after surgery. This case highlights the importance of avoidance of pregnancy after bariatric surgery. We report a case of unplanned pregnancy in a 35-year-old woman with a history of subfertility for 8 years who conceived spontaneously 3 months after gastric bypass surgery. This occurred because there was no contraception offered to her after the procedure. The pregnancy was complicated with recurrent episodes of hypoglycaemia secondary to dumping syndrome. Primary care providers need to be vigilant and have a high index of suspicion for dumping syndrome in pregnant obese women who have undergone bariatric surgery

Inhibitory effect of microRNA34a on retinal pigment epithelial cell proliferation and migration,”

Citation: Hou Q, Tang J, Wang Z, et al. Inhibitory effect of microRNA-34a on retinal pigment epithelial cell proliferation and migration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2013;54:6481-6488. DOI:10.1167/iovs.13-11873 PURPOSE. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells play important roles in ophthalmologic diseases such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy, AMD, and diabetic retinopathy. MicroRNA34a (miR-34a) has been reported to be important in the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this study, we explored the effects of miR-34a on RPE cells. METHODS. The expression level of miR-34a in subconfluent and postconfluent ARPE-19 cells was investigated with quantitative real-time PCR. MicroRNA mimic and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were transiently transfected into RPE cells. Transfected RPE cells were analyzed with WST-1 proliferation assay, and their migration was analyzed with transwell assay and in vitro scratch study. The expression or activation of target proteins was detected by Western blotting. RESULTS. MicroRNA-34a was significantly downregulated in subconfluent ARPE-19 cells compared with postconfluent cells. Introduction of miR-34a inhibited the proliferation and migratory ability of RPE cells without obvious cell apoptosis. In miR-34a transfected cells, many important proliferation and/or migration related molecules such as c-Met, CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, E2F1, and phosphorylated-Cdc2 (p-Cdc2) were downregulated. Small interfering RNA designed to target c-Met also inhibited the proliferation and migration of RPE cells and downregulated CDK2, CDK6, E2F1, and p-Cdc2. CONCLUSIONS. MicroRNA-34a is downregulated in subconfluent RPE cells. MicroRNA-34a can inhibit the proliferation and migration of RPE cells through downregulation of its targets c-Met and other cell cycle-related molecules. Our results indicated that miR-34a is involved in the regulation of RPE cells

Improving "color rendering" of LED lighting for the growth of lettuce

Light plays a vital role on the growth and development of plant. On the base of white light with high color rendering to the benefit of human survival and life, we proposed to improve “color rendering” of LED lighting for accelerating the growth of lettuce. Seven spectral LED lights were adopted to irradiate the lettuces under 150 μmol·m−2·s−1 for a 16 hd−1 photoperiod. The leaf area and number profiles, plant biomass, and photosynthetic rate under the as-prepared LED light treatments were investigated. We let the absorption spectrum of fresh leaf be the emission spectrum of ideal light and then evaluate the “color rendering” of as-prepared LED lights by the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and CIE chromaticity coordinates. Under the irradiation of red-yellow-blue light with high correlation coefficient of 0.587, the dry weights and leaf growth rate are 2-3 times as high as the sharp red-blue light. The optimized LED light for lettuce growth can be presumed to be limited to the angle (about 75°) between the vectors passed through the ideal light in the CIE chromaticity coordinates. These findings open up a new idea to assess and find the optimized LED light for plant growth