The Development Strategy of IT Capability: A Contingency Perspective

This study proposes a conceptual model to link IT capabilities, industry types, and value implications. We attempt to use a contingency analysis to theorize that which types of IT capabilities (e.g., externally-focused, internally-focused, and aggregate IT capability) should a firm develop and then what benefits (e.g., firm value and firm performance) it will gain according to its industry’s value creation logic (e.g., value chain-based, value shop-based, and value network-based industry). The empirical findings show that a value network-based firm should develop externally-focused IT capabilities to create its firm value and a value chain-based firm should develop aggregate IT capabilities to improve its firm performance and create its firm value

The Relationship Between It Capability And Firm Performance In Different E-Business Modes

Based on the technology typology view, this study propose three e-business modes: process-oriented EB, relationship-oriented EB, and knowledge-oriented EB. Then, they can be referred to different industry types (e.g., manufacturing, financial industry, and service, respectively). Further, the effects of IT capability on firm performance in these EB modes are compared. The preliminary empirical results shows that IT capability-enabled firm performance is more significant in process-oriented EB and not significant in relationship-oriented EB. The findings encourage firms to re-think different IT strategy according to the characteristics of their EB modes rather than only adopt a more general strategy (e.g., the development of IT capability)

Machine learning ensures rapid and precise selection of gold sea-urchin-like nanoparticles for desired light-to-plasmon resonance

Sustainable energy strategies, particularly solar-to-hydrogen production, are anticipated to overcome the global reliance on fossil fuels. Thereby, materials enabling the production of green hydrogen from water and sunlight are continuously designed,; e.g.; , ZnO nanostructures coated by gold sea-urchin-like nanoparticles, which employ the light-to-plasmon resonance to realize photoelectrochemical water splitting. But such light-to-plasmon resonance is strongly impacted by the size, the species, and the concentration of the metal nanoparticles coating on the ZnO nanoflower surfaces. Therefore, a precise prediction of the surface plasmon resonance is crucial to achieving an optimized nanoparticle fabrication of the desired light-to-plasmon resonance. To this end, we synthesized a substantial amount of metal (gold) nanoparticles of different sizes and species, which are further coated on ZnO nanoflowers. Subsequently, we utilized a genetic algorithm neural network (GANN) to obtain the synergistically trained model by considering the light-to-plasmon conversion efficiencies and fabrication parameters, such as multiple metal species, precursor concentrations, surfactant concentrations, linker concentrations, and coating times. In addition, we integrated into the model's training the data of nanoparticles due to their inherent complexity, which manifests the light-to-plasmon conversion efficiency far from the coupling state. Therefore, the trained model can guide us to obtain a rapid and automatic selection of fabrication parameters of the nanoparticles with the anticipated light-to-plasmon resonance, which is more efficient than an empirical selection. The capability of the method achieved in this work furthermore demonstrates a successful projection of the light-to-plasmon conversion efficiency and contributes to an efficient selection of the fabrication parameters leading to the anticipated properties

Role of genetics in susceptibility to environmentally-induced myopia

Myopia is a common ocular disorder with complex and yet unidentified causes. Studies in animal models of myopia have revealed substantial variation in the degree of myopia induced by a uniform regimen of visual manipulation. This study investigated the role of genetics on susceptibility to environmentally-induced myopia by means of a selective breeding experiment. Chicks with high or low susceptibility to monocular form deprivation (FD) were selected from an outbred population that showed considerable variation in the response to FD. After two rounds of selection, the High and Low susceptibility selected lines exhibited an evident divergence in their ocular responses to FD. Chicks from the High line developed twice the degree of myopia compared to those from the Low line. This difference was not due to visual disability or immaturity of the visual system in Low line chicks. Thus, susceptibility to form deprivation in chicks has a strong genetic component. In estimating the heritability, approximately 50% of the variation in the chicks' susceptibility to FD-induced myopia was attributable to additive genetic effects. However, the genetic variants that control the normal variation in eye size appear to be distinct from the variants that determine susceptibility to FD due to no evidence of pleiotropic genetic effects between these traits. When chicks from the High and Low lines were tested for their responses to lens- induced visual defocus, a significant difference between the two selected lines was observed for minus lens wear, but not for plus lens wear. Thus, there must be some shared mechanism(s) in the ocular responses to FD and minus lens wear, but different mechanisms in the responses to plus lens wear and FD. Compared to the chicken, the mouse model of myopia has the advantages of a closer evolutionary relationship to humans and features of primate myopia. Using a novel swept-source OCT system, it was found that OCT showed good repeatability and accuracy in measuring axial ocular components in mouse. In addition, axial ocular components in mice were found to be mainly controlled by additive genetic effects

In Vitro Activities of Antibiotic Combinations Against Clinical Isolates of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Combination therapy has been recommended to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections worldwide. The purpose of the present study was to determine the in vitro activities of piperacillin, cefepime, aztreonam, amikacin, and ciprofloxacin alone and in combination against 100 clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from one medical center in southern Taiwan. The combination susceptibility assay was performed using the checkerboard technique. The percentage of resistance of P. aeruginosa to single agents in our study was relatively high for the Asia-Pacific area, except to aztreonam. Piperacillin plus amikacin exhibited the highest potential for synergy (59/100) in this study. Moreover, a high percentage of synergism was also noted with amikacin combined with cefepime (7/100) or aztreonam (16/100). The combination of two beta-lactams, such as cefepime with piperacillin, and aztreonam with cefepime or piperacillin, showed synergistic effects against some P. aeruginosa isolates. Although ciprofloxacin is a good anti-pseudomonal agent, a very low potential for synergy with other antibiotics was demonstrated in this study. No antagonism was exhibited by any combination in our study. Among piperacillin-resistant strains, there was synergy with a beta-lactam plus amikacin, including the combination of piperacillin and amikacin. However, the combination of two beta-lactams, such as piperacillin and cefepime or aztreonam, did not have any synergistic activity against these strains. In summary, the combinations of amikacin with the tested beta-lactams (piperacillin, aztreonam, cefepime) had a greater synergistic effect against P. aeruginosa, even piperacillin-resistant strains, than other combinations. Understanding the synergistic effect on clinical strains may help clinicians choose better empirical therapy in an area with high prevalence of multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa

Construction and Evaluation of Chloroplast Expression Vectors in Higher Plants

Plastid transformation has a number of advantages in comparison with nuclear transformation. Currently, only tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is routinely used in plastid transformation. Here we constructed a series of chloroplast expression vectors specific for spinach (pCEV1), tomato (pCEV2 and pCEV3), and N. benthamiana (pCEV4). Selection marker aminoglycoside 3′-adenyltransferase (aadA) conferring spectinomycin resistance was used in pCEV1, pCEV2, and pCEV4, while selection marker neomycin phosphotransferase II (nptII) was used in pCEV3. The expression cassette in these vectors was integrated in the intergenic spacer between trnI and trnA of plastid genome via homologous recombination. Several transgenes, including a reporter gene encoding GFP:GUS fusion protein and genes from tomato (lycopene b-cyclase, z-carotene desaturase) and bamboo mosaic virus satellite RNA (encoding coat protein CP20), were independently cloned into some of these vectors. Transient GUS expression was detected in spinach leaves bombarded by pCEV1/GFP-GUS. Functional expression of selection markers aadA and nptII was demonstrated for spinach, tomato, and N. benthamiana. Seedling assay from T0 self-pollinated plant of transplastomic N. benthamiana confirmed maternal inheritance of transgenes, and genomic PCR analysis confirmed integration of transgenic expression cassette into the plastid genome of N. benthamiana. Moreover, auxiliary vectors pECaad and pECnpt are also reported