E-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries: evidence from Indonesia

This study aims to provide an overview of e-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries and, in particular, the extent of the adoption of e-commerce by Indonesian SMEs. It identifies the e-commerce benefits realized by these SMEs and investigates the relationship between the levels of e-commerce adoption and the benefits thus realized. The study was motivated by the limited studies related to e-commerce adoption by SMEs, especially in developing countries. In addition, it seems that most e-commerce studies are focused more on upstream issues: to see the factors that facilitate, or barriers faced regarding e-commerce adoption, rather than downstream issues: to see post-adoption benefits. This certainly limits our understanding about e-commerce adoption by SMEs in developing countries, as well as the post-adoption benefits of e-commerce. Indonesia was chosen as the place in which to conduct the study. A survey of 292 SMEs shows that the majority of them are still at an early stage in their adoption of e-commerce. Their use of e-commerce is dominated by marketing and purchasing and procurement activities. “Extending market reach”, “increased sales”, “improved external communication”, “improved company image”, “improved speed of processing”, and “increased employee productivity” are reported as the top six e-commerce benefits perceived by these SMEs. This study also shows that SMEs at the higher level of e-commerce adoption experience greater e-commerce benefits than those at other levels of adoption

The Gaia-ESO Survey: Pre-Main Sequence Stars in the Young Open Cluster NGC 3293

The young open cluster NGC3293 is included in the observing program of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). The radial velocity values provided have been used to assign cluster membership probabilities by means of a single-variable parametric analysis. These membership probabilities are compared to the results of the photometric membership assignment of NGC3293, based on UBV RI photometry. The agreement of the photometric and kinematic member samples amounts to 65%, and could increase to 70% as suggested by the analysis of the differences between both samples. A number of photometric PMS candidate members of spectral type F are found, which are confirmed by the results from VPHAS photometry and SED fitting for the stars in common with VPHAS and GES data sets. Excesses at mid- and near-infrared wavelengths, and signs of Hα emission, are investigated for them. Marginal presence of Hα emission or infilling is detected for the candidate members. Several of them exhibit moderate signs of U excess and weak excesses at mid-IR wavelengths. We suggest that these features originate from accretion disks in their last stages of evolution

Cryptic Diversity in Indo-Pacific Coral-Reef Fishes Revealed by DNA-Barcoding Provides New Support to the Centre-of-Overlap Hypothesis

Diversity in coral reef fishes is not evenly distributed and tends to accumulate in the Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago (IMPA). The comprehension of the mechanisms that initiated this pattern is in its infancy despite its importance for the conservation of coral reefs. Considering the IMPA either as an area of overlap or a cradle of marine biodiversity, the hypotheses proposed to account for this pattern rely on extant knowledge about taxonomy and species range distribution. The recent large-scale use of standard molecular data (DNA barcoding), however, has revealed the importance of taking into account cryptic diversity when assessing tropical biodiversity. We DNA barcoded 2276 specimens belonging to 668 coral reef fish species through a collaborative effort conducted concomitantly in both Indian and Pacific oceans to appraise the importance of cryptic diversity in species with an Indo-Pacific distribution range. Of the 141 species sampled on each side of the IMPA, 62 presented no spatial structure whereas 67 exhibited divergent lineages on each side of the IMPA with K2P distances ranging between 1% and 12%, and 12 presented several lineages with K2P distances ranging between 3% and 22%. Thus, from this initial pool of 141 nominal species with Indo-Pacific distribution, 79 dissolved into 165 biological units among which 162 were found in a single ocean. This result is consistent with the view that the IMPA accumulates diversity as a consequence of its geological history, its location on the junction between the two main tropical oceans and the presence of a land bridge during glacial times in the IMPA that fostered allopatric divergence and secondary contacts between the Indian and Pacific oceans

The Gaia-ESO Survey: Pre-main-sequence stars in the young open cluster NGC 3293

© 2016 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.The young open cluster NGC3293 is included in the observing program of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). The radial velocity values provided have been used to assign cluster membership probabilities by means of a single-variable parametric analysis. These membership probabilities are compared to the results of the photometric membership assignment of NGC3293, based on UBVRI photometry. The agreement of the photometric and kinematic member samples amounts to 65 per cent, and could increase to 70 per cent as suggested by the analysis of the differences between both samples. A number of photometric PMS candidate members of spectral type F are found, which are confirmed by the results from VPHAS photometry and SED fitting for the stars in common with VPHAS and GES data sets. Excesses at mid- and near-infrared wavelengths, and signs of Hα emission, are investigated for them. Marginal presence of Hα emission or infilling is detected for the candidate members. Several of them exhibit moderate signs of U excess and weak excesses at mid-IR wavelengths. We suggest that these features originate from accretion discs in their last stages of evolution

Combinatorial Clustering of Residue Position Subsets Predicts Inhibitor Affinity across the Human Kinome

The protein kinases are a large family of enzymes that play fundamental roles in propagating signals within the cell. Because of the high degree of binding site similarity shared among protein kinases, designing drug compounds with high specificity among the kinases has proven difficult. However, computational approaches to comparing the 3-dimensional geometry and physicochemical properties of key binding site residue positions have been shown to be informative of inhibitor selectivity. The Combinatorial Clustering Of Residue Position Subsets (CCORPS) method, introduced here, provides a semi-supervised learning approach for identifying structural features that are correlated with a given set of annotation labels. Here, CCORPS is applied to the problem of identifying structural features of the kinase ATP binding site that are informative of inhibitor binding. CCORPS is demonstrated to make perfect or near-perfect predictions for the binding affinity profile of 8 of the 38 kinase inhibitors studied, while only having overall poor predictive ability for 1 of the 38 compounds. Additionally, CCORPS is shown to identify shared structural features across phylogenetically diverse groups of kinases that are correlated with binding affinity for particular inhibitors; such instances of structural similarity among phylogenetically diverse kinases are also shown to not be rare among kinases. Finally, these function-specific structural features may serve as potential starting points for the development of highly specific kinase inhibitors

The Gaia-ESO Survey: pre-main-sequence stars in the young open cluster NGC 3293

The young open cluster NGC3293 is included in the observing program of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). The radial velocity values provided have been used to assign cluster membership probabilities by means of a single-variable parametric analysis. These membership probabilities are compared to the results of the photometric membership assignment of NGC3293, based on UBVRI photometry. The agreement of the photometric and kinematic member samples amounts to 65 per cent, and could increase to 70 per cent as suggested by the analysis of the differences between both samples. A number of photometric PMS candidate members of spectral type F are found, which are confirmed by the results from VPHAS photometry and SED fitting for the stars in common with VPHAS and GES data sets. Excesses at mid- and near-infrared wavelengths, and signs of Hα emission, are investigated for them. Marginal presence of Hα emission or infilling is detected for the candidate members. Several of them exhibit moderate signs of U excess and weak excesses at mid-IR wavelengths. We suggest that these features originate from accretion discs in their last stages of evolution

Genetic background determines response to hemostasis and thrombosis

BACKGROUND: Thrombosis is the fatal and disabling consequence of cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Western countries. Two inbred mouse strains, C57BL/6J and A/J, have marked differences in susceptibility to obesity, atherosclerosis, and vessel remodeling. However, it is unclear how these diverse genetic backgrounds influence pathways known to regulate thrombosis and hemostasis. The objective of this study was to evaluate thrombosis and hemostasis in these two inbred strains and determine the phenotypic response of A/J chromosomes in the C57BL/6J background. METHODS: A/J and C57Bl/6J mice were evaluated for differences in thrombosis and hemostasis. A thrombus was induced in the carotid artery by application of the exposed carotid to ferric chloride and blood flow measured until the vessel occluded. Bleeding and rebleeding times, as surrogate markers for thrombosis and hemostasis, were determined after clipping the tail and placing in warm saline. Twenty-one chromosome substitution strains, A/J chromosomes in a C57BL/6J background, were screened for response to the tail bleeding assay. RESULTS: Thrombus occlusion time was markedly decreased in the A/J mice compared to C57BL/6J mice. Tail bleeding time was similar in the two strains, but rebleeding time was markedly increased in the A/J mice compared to C57BL/6J mice. Coagulation times and tail morphology were similar, but tail collagen content was higher in A/J than C57BL/6J mice. Three chromosome substitution strains, B6-Chr5(A/J), B6-Chr11(A/J), and B6-Chr17(A/J), were identified with increased rebleeding time, a phenotype similar to A/J mice. Mice heterosomic for chromosomes 5 or 17 had rebleeding times similar to C57BL/6J mice, but when these two chromosome substitution strains, B6-Chr5(A/J )and B6-Chr17(A/J), were crossed, the A/J phenotype was restored in these doubly heterosomic progeny. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that susceptibility to arterial thrombosis and haemostasis is remarkably different in C57BL/and A/J mice. Three A/J chromosome substitution strains were identified that expressed a phenotype similar to A/J for rebleeding, the C57Bl/6J background could modify the A/J phenotype, and the combination of two A/J QTL could restore the phenotype. The diverse genetic backgrounds and differences in response to vascular injury induced thrombosis and the tail bleeding assay, suggest the potential for identifying novel genetic determinants of thrombotic risk

Preclinical Assessment of the Treatment of Second-Stage African Trypanosomiasis with Cordycepin and Deoxycoformycin

There is an urgent need to substitute the highly toxic arsenic compounds still in use for treatment of the encephalitic stage of African trypanosomiasis, a disease caused by infection with Trypanosoma brucei. We exploited the inability of trypanosomes to engage in de novo purine synthesis as a therapeutic target. Cordycepin was selected from a trypanocidal screen of a 2200-compound library. When administered together with the adenosine deaminase inhibitor deoxycoformycin, cordycepin cured mice inoculated with the human pathogenic subspecies T. brucei rhodesiense or T. brucei gambiense even after parasites had penetrated into the brain. Successful treatment was achieved by intraperitoneal, oral or subcutaneous administration of the compounds. Treatment with the doublet also diminished infection-induced cerebral inflammation. Cordycepin induced programmed cell death of the parasites. Although parasites grown in vitro with low doses of cordycepin gradually developed resistance, the resistant parasites lost virulence and showed no cross-resistance to trypanocidal drugs in clinical use. Our data strongly support testing cordycepin and deoxycoformycin as an alternative for treatment of second-stage and/or melarsoprol-resistant HAT

Carnivore Translocations and Conservation: Insights from Population Models and Field Data for Fishers (Martes pennanti)

Translocations are frequently used to restore extirpated carnivore populations. Understanding the factors that influence translocation success is important because carnivore translocations can be time consuming, expensive, and controversial. Using population viability software, we modeled reintroductions of the fisher, a candidate for endangered or threatened status in the Pacific states of the US. Our model predicts that the most important factor influencing successful re-establishment of a fisher population is the number of adult females reintroduced (provided some males are also released). Data from 38 translocations of fishers in North America, including 30 reintroductions, 5 augmentations and 3 introductions, show that the number of females released was, indeed, a good predictor of success but that the number of males released, geographic region and proximity of the source population to the release site were also important predictors. The contradiction between model and data regarding males may relate to the assumption in the model that all males are equally good breeders. We hypothesize that many males may need to be released to insure a sufficient number of good breeders are included, probably large males. Seventy-seven percent of reintroductions with known outcomes (success or failure) succeeded; all 5 augmentations succeeded; but none of the 3 introductions succeeded. Reintroductions were instrumental in reestablishing fisher populations within their historical range and expanding the range from its most-contracted state (43% of the historical range) to its current state (68% of the historical range). To increase the likelihood of translocation success, we recommend that managers: 1) release as many fishers as possible, 2) release more females than males (55–60% females) when possible, 3) release as many adults as possible, especially large males, 4) release fishers from a nearby source population, 5) conduct a formal feasibility assessment, and 6) develop a comprehensive implementation plan that includes an active monitoring program

Structural constraints revealed in consistent nucleosome positions in the genome of S. cerevisiae

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent advances in the field of high-throughput genomics have rendered possible the performance of genome-scale studies to define the nucleosomal landscapes of eukaryote genomes. Such analyses are aimed towards providing a better understanding of the process of nucleosome positioning, for which several models have been suggested. Nevertheless, questions regarding the sequence constraints of nucleosomal DNA and how they may have been shaped through evolution remain open. In this paper, we analyze in detail different experimental nucleosome datasets with the aim of providing a hypothesis for the emergence of nucleosome-forming sequences.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We compared the complete sets of nucleosome positions for the budding yeast (<it>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</it>) as defined in the output of two independent experiments with the use of two different experimental techniques. We found that < 10% of the experimentally defined nucleosome positions were consistently positioned in both datasets. This subset of well-positioned nucleosomes, when compared with the bulk, was shown to have particular properties at both sequence and structural levels. Consistently positioned nucleosomes were also shown to occur preferentially in pairs of dinucleosomes, and to be surprisingly less conserved compared with their adjacent nucleosome-free linkers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings may be combined into a hypothesis for the emergence of a weak nucleosome-positioning code. According to this hypothesis, consistent nucleosomes may be partly guided by nearby nucleosome-free regions through statistical positioning. Once established, a set of well-positioned consistent nucleosomes may impose secondary constraints that further shape the structure of the underlying DNA. We were able to capture these constraints through the application of a recently introduced structural property that is related to the symmetry of DNA curvature. Furthermore, we found that both consistently positioned nucleosomes and their adjacent nucleosome-free regions show an increased tendency towards conservation of this structural feature.</p