Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) using Interface Diversity

An important ingredient of the future 5G systems will be Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC). A way to offer URLLC without intervention in the baseband/PHY layer design is to use interface diversity and integrate multiple communication interfaces, each interface based on a different technology. In this work, we propose to use coding to seamlessly distribute coded payload and redundancy data across multiple available communication interfaces. We formulate an optimization problem to find the payload allocation weights that maximize the reliability at specific target latency values. In order to estimate the performance in terms of latency and reliability of such an integrated communication system, we propose an analysis framework that combines traditional reliability models with technology-specific latency probability distributions. Our model is capable to account for failure correlation among interfaces/technologies. By considering different scenarios, we find that optimized strategies can in some cases significantly outperform strategies based on $k$-out-of-$n$ erasure codes, where the latter do not account for the characteristics of the different interfaces. The model has been validated through simulation and is supported by experimental results.Comment: Accepted for IEEE Transactions on Communication

The Emergence and Growth of Ecosystem: The Strategic Role of Digital Innovation

Ecosystem is increasingly prevailing in global competitive landscape, which has received heightened attention in academia and practice. Extent literature has largely concentrated on the development of digital ecosystem in stage-based manner, however, viewing it from the perspectives of scale up and scope extension remains void. Based on an in-depth case study of a flower technology company in China, we inductively adopt the lenses of scale and scope to address how digital innovation can empower the development of ecosystem. In particular, we critically trace three mechanisms of ecosystem scale up: supplier agility, logistic optimization and network structure orchestration. Among which, we indicated a positive network effect in business digital ecosystem, identified influences of digital innovation toward market and further revealed the effectiveness of supplier inclusiveness in supply chain relationship. This model offers significant implications on information system, supply chain management literature and provides essential managerial implication

Working with the homeless: The case of a non-profit organisation in Shanghai

This article addresses a two-pronged objective, namely to bring to the fore a much neglected social issue of homelessness, and to explore the dynamics of state-society relations in contemporary China, through a case study of a non-profit organisation (NPO) working with the homeless in Shanghai. It shows that the largely invisible homelessness in Chinese cities was substantially due to exclusionary institutions, such as the combined household registration and 'detention and deportation' systems. Official policy has become much more supportive since 2003 when the latter was replaced with government-run shelters, but we argue that the NPO case demonstrates the potential for enhanced longer-term support and enabling active citizenship for homeless people. By analysing the ways in which the NPO offers services through collaboration and partnership with the public (and private) actors, we also argue that the transformations in postreform China and the changes within the state and civil society have significantly blurred their boundaries, rendering state-society relations much more complex, dynamic, fluid and mutually embedded

Extending digital ventures through templating

Digital ventures typically face significant growth expectations. A common response is to extend the current operations into new areas through repurposing its digital core (e.g., search engine, data mining technique, platform, or voice interface). Grounded in prior literature, we surmise that the high versatility of the digital venture’s digital core facilitates such an extension by reducing cost and increasing speed. However, we know little about the process by which digital ventures draw on their digital core to extend current operations. To this end, we use Penrose’s work to analyze a two-year in-depth case study of a Chinese digital venture’s extension of its initial operations based on its credit rating technology. Our findings suggest that digital venture extension is facilitated by templating, which is a digitally enabled process of generating and using generic solutions across business areas. Through our grounded analysis, we unpack templating by tracing three processes contributing to digital venture extension: concepting, generalizing, and porting. Synthesizing our findings, we contribute to the emerging digital innovation and entrepreneurship literature by developing a process model of digital venture extension

Host genetic variants and gene expression patterns associated with Epstein-Barr virus copy number in lymphoblastoid cell lines.

Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) are commonly used in molecular genetics, supplying DNA for the HapMap and 1000 Genomes Projects, used to test chemotherapeutic agents, and informing the basis of a number of population genetics studies of gene expression. The process of transforming human B cells into LCLs requires the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a double-stranded DNA virus which through B-cell immortalisation maintains an episomal virus genome in every cell of an LCL at variable copy numbers. Previous studies have reported that EBV alters host-gene expression and EBV copy number may be under host genetic control. We performed a genome-wide association study of EBV genome copy number in LCLs and found the phenotype to be highly heritable, although no individual SNPs achieved a significant association with EBV copy number. The expression of two host genes (CXCL16 and AGL) was positively correlated and expression of ADARB2 was negatively correlated with EBV copy number in a genotype-independent manner. This study shows an association between EBV copy number and the gene expression profile of LCLs, and suggests that EBV copy number should be considered as a covariate in future studies of host gene expression in LCLs

Platform success in the international marketplace: reconfiguring digital resources for marketing agility

PurposeThis paper explores how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets. Design/methodology/approachWe draw on a case study of a Chinese digital platform to explore the processes and mechanisms of reconfiguring during marketing agility development. Data from different sources are collected, including interviews, informal dialogue and archival data. FindingsVersatile digital resources create productive applications for previously less amendable marketing and nonmarketing resources to be malleable, editable and reconfigurable in marketing agility development. This study identifies and clarifies three versatile digital resource-enabled reconfiguration activities in marketing agility building: recombining digital artifacts, repurposing human capital and cross-pollinating markets. Research limitations/implicationsSince our study adopts a case study method, future research can extend our insights by using quantitative methods to test and verify our theoretical framework. Practical implicationsFirst, we provide insights into how organizations can reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve the benefits of marketing agility in international markets. Second, while recruiting new employees during internationalization is vital, we suggest that assisted by digital artifacts, firms can repurpose the existing workforce, such as via multitasking, swift task-switching and flexible job redirecting to satisfy dynamic international business requirements with lower adjustment costs. Third, we offer two localization approaches in which firms can use digital artifacts as the enabler to remix sociocultural elements with local adaptations to develop glocal content and decentralize content production to generate inclusive local content. Originality/valueWe provide a process model that specifies how platforms reconfigure versatile digital resources to achieve marketing agility in international markets. Furthermore, we provide novel insights into the literature on marketing agility in international markets and localization

In Vitro Selection of a DNAzyme Cooperatively Binding Two Lanthanide Ions for RNA Cleavage

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Biochemistry, © 2016 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by publisher. To access the final edited and published work see Huang, P. J. J., Vazin, M., & Liu, J. (2016). In Vitro Selection of a DNAzyme Cooperatively Binding Two Lanthanide Ions for RNA Cleavage. Biochemistry, 55(17), 2518–2525. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.6b00132Trivalent lanthanide ions (Ln(3+)) were recently employed to select RNA-cleaving DNAzymes, and three new DNAzymes have been reported so far. In this work, dysprosium (Dy3+) was used with a library containing 50 random nucleotides. After six rounds of in vitro selection, a new DNAzyme named Dy10a was obtained and characterized. Dy10a has a bulged hairpin structure cleaving a RNA/DNA chimeric substrate. Dy10a is highly active in the presence of the five Ln(3+) ions in the middle of the lanthanide series (Sm3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, and Dy3+), while its activity descends on the two sides. The cleavage rate reaches 0.6 min(-1) at pH 6 with just 200 nM Sm3+, which is the fastest among all known Ln(3+)-dependent enzymes. Dy10a binds two Ln(3+) ions cooperatively. When a phosphorothioate (PS) modification is introduced at the cleavage junction, the activity decreases by >2500-fold for both the R-p and S-p diastereomers, and thiophilic Cd2+ cannot rescue the activity. The pH-rate profile has a slope of 0.37 between pH 4.2 and 5.2, and the slope was even lower at higher pH. On the basis of these data, a model of metal binding is proposed. Finally, a catalytic beacon sensor that can detect Ho3+ down to 1.7 nM is constructed.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada [386326, STPGP 447472-13

Distinction of Individual Lanthanide Ions with a DNAzyme Beacon Array

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Sensors, © 2016 American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by publisher. To access the final edited and published work see Huang, P.-J. J., Vazin, M., Lin, J. J., Pautler, R., & Liu, J. (2016). Distinction of Individual Lanthanide Ions with a DNAzyme Beacon Array. Acs Sensors, 1(6), 732–738. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.6b00239Developing chemical probes to distinguish each lanthanide ion is a long-standing challenge. Aside from its analytical applications, solving this problem will also enhance our knowledge in metal ligand design. Using in vitro selection, we previously reported four RNA-cleaving DNAzymes, each with a different activity trend cross the lanthanide series. We herein performed another eight in vitro selection experiments using each and every lanthanide from La3+ to Tb3+ but excluding the radioactive Pm3+. A new DNAzyme named Gd2b was identified and characterized. By labeling this DNAzyme with a fluorophore/quencher pair to create a catalytic beacon, a detection limit of 14 nM Gd3+ was achieved. With the same beacon design, all the five lanthanide-specific DNAzymes were used together to form a sensor array. Each lanthanide ion produces a unique response pattern with these five sensors, allowing a pattern-recognition-based linear discriminant analysis (LDA) algorithm to be applied, where separation was achieved between lanthanides and nonlanthanides, light and heavy lanthanides, and for the most part, each lanthanide. These lanthanide specific DNA molecules are useful for understanding lanthanide coordination chemistry, designing hybrid materials, and developing related analytical probes.Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) [386326

Amino acid residues in five separate HLA genes can explain most of the known associations between the MHC and primary biliary cholangitis.

Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune liver disease characterised by progressive destruction of intrahepatic bile ducts. The strongest genetic association is with HLA-DQA1*04:01, but at least three additional independent HLA haplotypes contribute to susceptibility. We used dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data in 2861 PBC cases and 8514 controls to impute classical HLA alleles and amino acid polymorphisms using state-of-the-art methodologies. We then demonstrated through stepwise regression that association in the HLA region can be largely explained by variation at five separate amino acid positions. Three-dimensional modelling of protein structures and calculation of electrostatic potentials for the implicated HLA alleles/amino acid substitutions demonstrated a correlation between the electrostatic potential of pocket P6 in HLA-DP molecules and the HLA-DPB1 alleles/amino acid substitutions conferring PBC susceptibility/protection, highlighting potential new avenues for future functional investigation