DIGITALLY ENABLED GRASSROOTS ENTERPRENEURSHIP FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ICT has been promoted as a way out of deprivation for rural residents who continue to suffer from a limited access to social-economic developments. However, less is understood about how a marginalized community can drive its own development. Simultaneously, the focus on ICT in developing context has eclipsed the study of ICT for development in existing literature. These observations underscore the need for this study that explores the use of ICT for grassroots entrepreneurship through the phenomenal rise of China Taobao E-commerce Village. Through an in-depth case study, we propose the concept of digitally enabled grassroots entrepreneurship that (1) contributes to the existing ICT4D literature by explicating the roles of ICT (e-commerce) in driving the grassroots entrepreneurship through the emergence of an entrepreneurial ecosystem for a self-driven development, and (2) delineates the process of digitally enabled development beyond the provision of the Internet and infrastructure by presenting the development stages of digitally enabled grassroots entrepreneurship through the opportunity exploitation and opportunity exploration of business, knowledge, and institutional entrepreneurship. The findings also provide a reference point for practitioners to reconsider the external intervention-based development approach

A Multicenter Retrospective Study on Clinical Characteristics, Treatment Patterns, and Outcome in Elderly Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background. There is a paucity of information on the clinical presentation and outcome of elderly hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. We performed a multicenter retrospective comparative study to assess the impact of age on potential differences in clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcome in HCC patients. Methods. We retrospectively analyzed HCC patients treated at two U.S. tertiary institutions from 1998 to 2008. Demographics, tumor parameters, etiology and severity of cirrhosis, treatment, and survival from diagnosis were collected and analyzed. After exclusion of transplanted patients, survival analyses were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank tests and Cox proportional hazards models. Results. Three hundred thirty-five HCC patients were divided into two groups: “elderly” (95 patients, age ≥70 years) and “younger” (240 patients, aged <70 years). The male/female (M/F) ratio was 5.8:1 and 1.7:1 in the younger and elderly groups, respectively (p < .0001). Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection rate was 48.3% in younger and 21.1% in elderly patients (p < .0001); Child class B and C cirrhosis accounted for 35.8% in younger and 25.3% in elderly patients (p = .063). Compared with younger patients, the elderly received transplant less frequently (19.6% versus 5.3%, p = .0002) and were more likely to receive supportive care only (22.9% versus 36.8%, p = .01). No significant differences between the two age groups were seen in tumor parameters or other treatments received. Overall (p = .47) and HCC-specific survival rates (p = .38) were similar in both age groups. Conclusions. Characteristics that distinguish elderly from younger HCC patients include lower M/F ratio, worse performance status, lower rate of HCV infection, and less advanced underlying cirrhosis. Elderly patients were less likely to have a liver transplant and more likely to receive supportive care only. However, overall and HCC-specific survival were similar between the two groups

A push–pull strategy to suppress stable fly (Diptera: Muscidae) attacks on pasture cattle via a coconut oil fatty acid repellent formulation and traps with \u3ci\u3em\u3c/i\u3e-cresol lures

BACKGROUND: Stable flies [Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)] are economically important pests of cattle and other livestock. As an alternative to conventional insecticides, we tested a push–pull management strategy using a coconut oil fatty acid repellent formulation and an attractant-added stable fly trap. RESULTS: In our field trials we found that weekly applications of a push–pull strategy can reduce stable fly populations on cattle as well as a standard insecticide (permethrin). We also found that the efficacy periods of the push–pull and permethrin treatments following on-animal application were equivalent. Traps with an attractant lure used as the pull component of the push–pull strategy captured sufficient numbers of stable flies to reduce on-animal numbers by an estimated 17–21%. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first proof-of-concept field trial demonstrating the effectiveness of a push–pull strategy using a coconut oil fatty acid-based repellent formulation and traps with an attractant lure to manage stable flies on pasture cattle. Also notable is that the push–pull strategy had an efficacy period equivalent to that of a standard, conventional insecticide under field conditions

Association of mitochondrial variants and haplogroups identified by whole exome sequencing with Alzheimer's disease

Introduction: Findings regarding the association between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are inconsistent. Methods: We developed a pipeline for accurate assembly and variant calling in mitochondrial genomes embedded within whole exome sequences (WES) from 10,831 participants from the Alzheimer's Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP). Association of AD risk was evaluated with each mtDNA variant and variants located in 1158 nuclear genes related to mitochondrial function using the SCORE test. Gene-based tests were performed using SKAT-O. Results: Analysis of 4220 mtDNA variants revealed study-wide significant association of AD with a rare MT-ND4L variant (rs28709356 C&gt;T; minor allele frequency = 0.002; P = 7.3 × 10 −5) as well as with MT-ND4L in a gene-based test (P = 6.71 × 10 −5). Significant association was also observed with a MT-related nuclear gene, TAMM41, in a gene-based test (P = 2.7 × 10 −5). The expression of TAMM41 was lower in AD cases than controls (P =.00046) or mild cognitive impairment cases (P =.03). Discussion: Significant findings in MT-ND4L and TAMM41 provide evidence for a role of mitochondria in AD.</p

LncRNAs GIHCG and SPINT1-AS1 Are Crucial Factors for Pan-Cancer Cells Sensitivity to Lapatinib

Lapatinib is a small molecule inhibitor of EGFR (HER1) and ERBB2 (HER2) receptors, which is used for treatment of advanced or metastatic breast cancer. To find the drug resistance mechanisms of treatment for EGFR/ERBB2 positive tumors, we analyzed the possible effects of lncRNAs. In this study, using CCLE (Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia) database, we explored the relationship between the lncRNAs and Lapatinib sensitivity/resistance, and then validated those findings through in vitro experiments. We found that the expression of EGFR/ERBB2 and activation of ERBB pathway was significantly related to Lapatinib sensitivity. GO (Gene Oncology) analysis of top 10 pathways showed that the sensitivity of Lapatinib was positively correlated with cell keratin, epithelial differentiation, and cell-cell junction, while negatively correlated with signatures of extracellular matrix. Forty-four differentially expressed lncRNAs were found between the Lapatinib sensitive and resistant groups (fold-change &gt; 1.5, P &lt; 0.01). Gene set variation analysis (GSVA) was performed based on 44 lncRNAs and genes in the top 10 pathways. Five lncRNAs were identified as hub molecules. Co-expression network was constructed by more than five lncRNAs and 199 genes in the top 10 pathways, and three lncRNAs (GIHCG, SPINT1-AS1, and MAGI2-AS3) and 47 genes were identified as close-related molecules. The three lncRNAs in epithelium-derived cancers were differentially expressed between sensitive and resistant groups, but no significance was found in non-epithelium-derived cancer cells. Correlation analysis showed that SPINT1-AS1 (R = −0.715, P &lt; 0.001) and GIHCG (R = 0.557, P = 0.013) were correlated with the IC50 of epithelium-derived cancer cells. In further experiments, GIHCG knockdown enhanced cancer cell susceptibility to Lapatinib, while high level of SPINT1-AS1 was a sensitive biomarker of NCI-N87 and MCF7 cancer cells to Lapatinib. In conclusions, lncRNAs GIHCG and SPINT1-AS1 were involved in regulating Lapatinib sensitivity. Up-regulation of GIHCG was a drug-resistant biomarker, while up-regulation of SPINT1-AS1 was a sensitive indicator

Intestinal Microbial Diversity during Early-Life Colonization Shapes Long-Term IgE Levels

Microbial exposure following birth profoundly impacts mammalian immune system development. Microbiota alterations are associated with increased incidence of allergic and autoimmune disorders with elevated serum IgE as a hallmark. The previously reported abnormally high serum IgE levels in germ-free mice suggests that immunoregulatory signals from microbiota are required to control basal IgE levels. We report that germ-free mice and those with low-diversity microbiota develop elevated serum IgE levels in early life. B cells in neonatal germ-free mice undergo isotype switching to IgE at mucosal sites in a CD4 T-cell- and IL-4-dependent manner. A critical level of microbial diversity following birth is required in order to inhibit IgE induction. Elevated IgE levels in germ-free mice lead to increased mast-cell-surface-bound IgE and exaggerated oral-induced systemic anaphylaxis. Thus, appropriate intestinal microbial stimuli during early life are critical for inducing an immunoregulatory network that protects from induction of IgE at mucosal sites

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements