Interorganizational Systems and Transformation of Interorganizational Relationships: A Relational Perspective

Increasingly, organizations have been investing heavily in information systems to support greater inter- organizational coordination and cooperation with key business partners. However, the adoption of such IOSs appears to depend not only on the firmís perspective, but also on the complementary perspective of each of these partners. Drawing on three IS theoretical perspectives and three views of competitive advantage, this study first develops a relational perspective which we posit to have general applicability in several different contexts, including adoption, diffusion and success of dyadic IOS implementations. In this current study, the relational perspective is operationalized in the specific context of dyadic IOS adoption, and its applicability is being demonstrated in two parts via case studies in the context of the BookNet and CoreNet projects in Singapore. The insights gained and lessons learned from the experiences of these case-study companies may hold valuable implications for both IS research and practice

Building the Digital Bridge: A Longitudinal Study of Community Learning Centers

This paper formulates a definition of digital divide in the context of developing countries such as India and develops theoretical models that relate potential antecedents to adoption and use of rural information centers by direct users, mediated users, and nonusers. It develops a survey instrument for the direct-user model and tests it with 60, 11- and 12-year-old students in rural and semirural schools, who have been using the centers for computer-based learning alongside traditional learning for more than a year. Results show that perceived usefulness of the computer-based system, prior information technology experience, and empathy of the human assistant are positively associated with the students’ preference of computer-based learning. The follow-up stages of this research consist of a longitudinal study of the three models with larger samples of students and other members of the rural populace. This is planned as a cohort study which will investigate the change in antecedents of intention to use the centers as individuals progress from nonuser to mediated user and then to direct user and the resultant implications

IT Industry Success in Small Developed Countries

While much research has focused on the reasons for information systems success, little research has focused on reasons for the success of U industries. This study investigates IT industry success in three small developed countries: Israel, New Zeahid and Singapore. All three countries have seen the rapid development of their IT industries in recent years. This is despite the fact that they are considerably different in many geographic, cultural, and political aspects and are widely dispersed around the globe

Aedes aegypti lachesin protein binds to the domain III of envelop protein of Dengue virus-2 and inhibits viral replication.

Dengue virus (DENV) comprises of four serotypes (DENV-1 to -4) and is medically one of the most important arboviruses (arthropod-borne virus). DENV infection is a major human health burden and is transmitted between humans by the insect vector, Aedes aegypti. Ae. aegypti ingests DENV while feeding on infected humans, which traverses through its gut, haemolymph and salivary glands of the mosquito before being injected into a healthy human. During this process of transmission, DENV must interact with many proteins of the insect vector, which are important for its successful transmission. Our study focused on the identification and characterisation of interacting protein partners in Ae. aegypti to DENV. Since domain III (DIII) of envelope protein (E) is exposed on the virion surface and is involved in virus entry into various cells, we performed phage display library screening against domain III of the envelope protein (EDIII) of DENV-2. A peptide sequence showing similarity to lachesin protein was found interacting with EDIII. The lachesin protein was cloned, heterologously expressed, purified and used for in vitro interaction studies. Lachesin protein interacted with EDIII and also with DENV. Further, lachesin protein was localised in neuronal cells of different organs of Ae. aegypti by confocal microscopy. Blocking of lachesin protein in Ae. aegypti with anti-lachesin antibody resulted in a significant reduction in DENV replication

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707