A Descriptive Content Analysis of Trust-Building Measures in B2B Electronic Marketplaces

Because business-to-business (B2B) electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces) facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers, they strive to foster a trustworthy trading environment with a variety of trust-building measures. However, little research has been undertaken to explore trust-building measures used in B2B e-marketplaces, or to determine to what extent these measures are applied in B2B e-marketplaces and how they are applied. Based on reviews of the scholarly, trade, and professional literature on trust in electronic commerce, we identified 11 trust-building measures used to create trust in B2B e-marketplaces. Zucker\u27s trust production theory [1986] was applied to understand how these trust-building measures will enhance participants\u27 trust in buyers and sellers in B2B e-marketplaces or in B2B e-marketplace providers. A descriptive content analysis of 100 B2B e-marketplaces was conducted to survey the current usage of the 11 trust-building measures. Many of the trust-building measures were found to be widely used in the B2B e-marketplaces. However, although they were proven to be effective in building trust-related beliefs in online business environments, several institutional-based trust-building measures, such as escrow services, insurance and third-party assurance seals, are not widely used in B2B e-marketplaces

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

Analysis of the dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum expressed sequence tags

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytes are the primary causative agent of dermatophytoses, a disease that affects billions of individuals worldwide. Trichophyton rubrum is the most common of the superficial fungi. Although T. rubrum is a recognized pathogen for humans, little is known about how its transcriptional pattern is related to development of the fungus and establishment of disease. It is therefore necessary to identify genes whose expression is relevant to growth, metabolism and virulence of T. rubrum. RESULTS: We generated 10 cDNA libraries covering nearly the entire growth phase and used them to isolate 11,085 unique expressed sequence tags (ESTs), including 3,816 contigs and 7,269 singletons. Comparisons with the GenBank non-redundant (NR) protein database revealed putative functions or matched homologs from other organisms for 7,764 (70%) of the ESTs. The remaining 3,321 (30%) of ESTs were only weakly similar or not similar to known sequences, suggesting that these ESTs represent novel genes. CONCLUSION: The present data provide a comprehensive view of fungal physiological processes including metabolism, sexual and asexual growth cycles, signal transduction and pathogenic mechanisms

The use of global transcriptional analysis to reveal the biological and cellular events involved in distinct development phases of Trichophyton rubrum conidial germination

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Conidia are considered to be the primary cause of infections by <it>Trichophyton rubrum</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have developed a cDNA microarray containing 10250 ESTs to monitor the transcriptional strategy of conidial germination. A total of 1561 genes that had their expression levels specially altered in the process were obtained and hierarchically clustered with respect to their expression profiles. By functional analysis, we provided a global view of an important biological system related to conidial germination, including characterization of the pattern of gene expression at sequential developmental phases, and changes of gene expression profiles corresponding to morphological transitions. We matched the EST sequences to GO terms in the <it>Saccharomyces </it>Genome Database (SGD). A number of homologues of <it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae </it>genes related to signalling pathways and some important cellular processes were found to be involved in <it>T. rubrum </it>germination. These genes and signalling pathways may play roles in distinct steps, such as activating conidial germination, maintenance of isotropic growth, establishment of cell polarity and morphological transitions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results may provide insights into molecular mechanisms of conidial germination at the cell level, and may enhance our understanding of regulation of gene expression related to the morphological construction of <it>T. rubrum</it>.</p

An investigation into trust-building mechanisms in B2B e-Marketplaces : a content analysis approach

B2B e-Marketplaces are applications of an electronic business platform introduced on the Internet. They establish a set of rules for online business, they serve buyers and sellers with acquiring products and information more effectively and efficiently, and they change stages of business processes. Trust is instrumental for establishing business relationships in B2B e-Marketplaces. Following Zucker's trust production theory, this study posits that the use of institution-based trust and process-based trust can induce two dimensions of inter-organizational trust in B2B e-commerce: trading partner trust (Marketplace participant trust) and Marketplace trust. To investigate the status quo for trust-building in B2B e-Marketplaces, one hundred B2B e-Marketplaces were selected randomly from the comprehensive list produced by eMarket Services (www. Emarketservices.com) and examined using content analysis methodology. The results reveal that seven trust-building mechanisms are commonly used for increasing trading partner trust (marketplace participant trust), and thirteen trust-building mechanisms are used for increasing marketplace trust. The findings provide guidelines for B2B e-Marketplaces for a trustworthy trading environment establishment.Business, Sauder School ofManagement Information Systems, Division ofGraduat

Family-mediated migration infrastructure : Chinese international students and parents navigating (im)mobilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated responses such as border closure, lockdown measures and flight controls have severely disrupted transnational infrastructures that sustain, channel, organize, and condition international migration. This infrastructural disruption has led to the double exclusion of temporary migrants from both sending and host societies. In this context, we explore how Chinese international students in the United Kingdom and their parents in China navigate transnational (im)mobilities during the pandemic. In doing so, we develop the conceptualization of “family-mediated migration infrastructure” to elucidate the role played by transnational family relationships in brokering information, mobilizing resources, and coordinating disjointed acts of institutional players in order to sustain transnational (im)mobility. We also reveal a distinctive emotional double-bind in the process of family-mediated infrastructuring, which requires members of transnational families to strategically perform emotional engagement and detachment in complex ways. Our findings highlight the functional resilience and emotional vulnerability of family-mediated transnational migration infrastructure, and render visible the intimate fabrics that contribute to sustaining transnationalism during the pandemic

Family-mediated migration infrastructure: Chinese international students and parents navigating (im)mobilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated responses such as border closure, lockdown measures and flight controls have severely disrupted transnational infrastructures that sustain, channel, organize, and condition international migration. This infrastructural disruption has led to the double exclusion of temporary migrants from both sending and host societies. In this context, we explore how Chinese international students in the United Kingdom and their parents in China navigate transnational (im)mobilities during the pandemic. In doing so, we develop the conceptualization of “family-mediated migration infrastructure” to elucidate the role played by transnational family relationships in brokering information, mobilizing resources, and coordinating disjointed acts of institutional players in order to sustain transnational (im)mobility. We also reveal a distinctive emotional double-bind in the process of family-mediated infrastructuring, which requires members of transnational families to strategically perform emotional engagement and detachment in complex ways. Our findings highlight the functional resilience and emotional vulnerability of family-mediated transnational migration infrastructure, and render visible the intimate fabrics that contribute to sustaining transnationalism during the pandemic

Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Predicts Pulmonary Hypertension Secondary to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Purpose. This study aims at investigating the predictive value of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) in pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods. 213 eligible in-hospital COPD patients were reviewed between May 2016 and May 2018, including 39 cases with PH and 174 without PH. Clinical data including demographic characteristics, comorbidities, and results of ultrasound scans, imaging examinations, and laboratory tests were recorded. Results. Increased RDW level was observed in COPD patients with PH compared with COPD patients without PH, with 15.10 ± 1.72% versus 13.70 ± 1.03%, respectively (p 1 were the independent risk factors of PH secondary to COPD (p<0.05). The AUC of the RDW in patients with PH was 0.749 ± 0.054 (p<0.001). The optimal cutoff value of RDW for predicting PH was 14.65, with a sensitivity and a specificity value of 69.2% and 82.8%, respectively. Conclusion. RDW is significantly increased in COPD patients with PH and thus may be a useful biomarker for PH secondary to COPD