Antifungal synergy of theaflavin and epicatechin combinations against Candida albicans

New antifungal agents are required to compensate for the increase in resistance to standard antifungal agents of Candida albicans, which is an important opportunistic fungal pathogen that causes minor infections in many individuals but very serious infections in those who are immune-compromised. In this study, combinations of theaflavin and epicatechin are investigated as potential antifungal agents and also to establish whether antifungal synergy exists between these two readily accessible and cost-effective polyphenols isolated from black and green tea. The results of disc diffusion assays showed stronger antibacterial activity of theaflavin:epicatechin combinations against C. albicans NCTC 3255 and NCTC 3179, than that of theaflavin alone. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 1,024 μg/ml with theaflavin and 128-256 μg/ml with theaflavin:epicatechin combinations were found. The fractional inhibitory concentration indexes were calculated, and the synergy between theaflavin and epicatechin against both isolates of C. albicans was confirmed. Theaflavin:epicatechin combinations show real potential for future use as a treatment for infections caused by C. albicans

Whiter, brighter, and more stable cellulose paper coated with antibacterial carboxymethyl starch stabilized ZnO nanoparticles

Small, carboxymethyl-starch-stabilised zinc oxide nanoparticles with a defined shape, size and morphology were prepared in situ in water at relatively low reaction temperatures using soluble carboxymethyl starch (CMS) as a combined crystallising, stabilising and solubilising agent and triethanolamine as the reducing agent. Aqueous colloidal solutions of these CMS-stabilised ZnO nanoparticles were used to deposit a coating of ZnO nanoparticles on cellulose paper by a wet-chemistry, polyelectrolyte, layer-by-layer approach using water as the only solvent. Such cellulose paper samples, coated with these CMS-stabilised ZnO nanoparticles, show higher brightness and whiteness than that of blank reference paper and are more stable to UV-radiation than the paper reference as well as demonstrating good antibacterial activity against MRSA and A. baumannii

Dissolving Firm Boundaries Through Surveillance: Incomplete Contracts, Information Assets, and Process Integration

This paper addresses the issue of interorganizational governance and process integration. Specifically, we are concerned with IOSs characterized by shared processes, joint control, yet divergent incentive structures. The analysis is inspired by the Grossman, Hart, and Moore theory of incomplete contracting, which forms a framework of vertical and lateral integration based upon residual rights of control over physical assets. In this study, we explore the application of a derivative of this framework, which allows for the separation of physical and information-based assets. As a consequence of this separation, we demonstrate how the acquisition of information can shift the locus of decisions in integrated processes as well as affect pricing and the distribution of rents within a value chain. The empirical setting is a high-tech manufacturer that implemented a Lotus Notes application which tracks the flow of products across several legal entities within its sales channel. We conduct a simple regression analysis for transactions with one distributor, where we find significance in the price differential for products traded within vs. outside of the system, demonstrating a shift in the distribution of rents via information appropriation. We conclude with a discussion of how a managerial perspective would benefit from viewing supply and value chains that span organizations as single systems, not merely competing agents, and suggest how an incomplete contracts perspective is beneficial to this challenge

Research in action to push the boundaries of scientific research and technological development

Lying in the space of human curiosity, this issue of CIJ experiments with the boundaries of scientific exploration to foster technological development. To cultivate experimental innovation, it is imperative to translate research into tangible action, explore multifaceted problems, offer support for implementation, and effectuate meaningful changes

Controlling your Brand: Contractual Restrictions Placed by Internet Retailers on Affiliate Marketing Activities in Spain

Affiliate marketing programs have emerged as one of the fastest-growing methods for online retailers to acquire customers and increase sales. Affiliate marketing offers a number of advantages, including a relatively low cost and the ability to accurately track the actions of website visitors and their responses to targeted promotional activities. However, while these programs have proven effective in increasing website traffic and sales, illegal or inappropriate activities on the part of affiliates could negatively impact a retailer’s brand in the eyes of customers. This study reviews the stated guidelines in one-to-many affiliate programs in the three major affiliate networks in Spain as a first step in understanding how online retailers control the business models and promotional tools used by their affiliates. The conclusion is that there is a significant lack of transparency in the guidance and restrictions communicated to affiliates, which increases the risk of inappropriate behavior or misconduct. Consequently, affiliate monitoring by online retailers becomes increasingly important. General recommendations to improve monitoring are considered

Self-Regulation for Online Auctions: An Analysis

The most prevalent form of Internet fraud is auction fraud. As fraud affects both the profits of Internet auction houses as well as honest traders of auction goods, they have a mutual incentive to reduce fraud. However, existing research suggests that little effort has been made by the Internet auction industry to control fraud. As a result, there have been increasing calls for government intervention to regulate the Internet auction marketplace. In this study, we perform a grounded theory analysis of fraud in the Internet auction marketplace. Specifically, this research explores the institutions that experienced traders and auction houses employ to reduce the incidence of fraud. Preliminary evidence suggests that, contrary to common perception, the Internet auction industry has developed many sophisticated institutions for combating fraud. These institutions operate primarily by reducing information asymmetries that con artists exploit. However, due to the ease of entry into Internet auction markets, new entrants become easy prey for con artists

Obsessed with time? White rabbit at CERN

To conduct research in fundamental science, big-science research infrastructures develop some of the most sophisticated technologies in existence. As such, mechanisms that can facilitate the transfer and commercialization of these technologies have vast potential to contribute to economic and social welfare. Scientists and engineers at CERN were confronted with the problem of minute data latency that was corrupting scientific measurements in their geographically distributed computing network. In response, they developed White Rabbit (WR) as open source hardware (OSH). In a context of basic research and a deliberate decision to share the R&D process openly with no IP restrictions, WR is now commercialized in diverse economic sectors including finance, telecommunications, energy, Internet of Things (IoT), and air traffic control. We analyze the emergence, development, and exploitation of WR to a) identify the antecedents in which complex R&D-intensive OSH differs from open source software (OSS), b) capture the mechanisms employed by CERN to stimulate firms’ R&D revelation and WR collaborative development, and c) investigate the business model configurations that companies have adopted in the commercial implementation of WR

Objectively measured physical activity and fat mass in a large cohort of children

Background Previous studies have been unable to characterise the association between physical activity and obesity, possibly because most relied on inaccurate measures of physical activity and obesity. Methods and Findings We carried out a cross sectional analysis on 5,500 12-year-old children enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Total physical activity and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using the Actigraph accelerometer. Fat mass and obesity (defined as the top decile of fat mass) were measured using the Lunar Prodigy dual x-ray emission absorptiometry scanner. We found strong negative associations between MVPA and fat mass that were unaltered after adjustment for total physical activity. We found a strong negative dose-response association between MVPA and obesity. The odds ratio for obesity in adjusted models between top and the bottom quintiles of minutes of MVPA was 0.03 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.13, p-value for trend < 0.0001) in boys and 0.36 (95% CI 0.17-0.74, p-value for trend = 0.006) in girls. Conclusions We demonstrated a strong graded inverse association between physical activity and obesity that was stronger in boys. Our data suggest that higher intensity physical activity may be more important than total activity

From Bits to Atoms: Open Source Hardware at CERN

Although considered a relatively recent phenomenon of the past decade, open source hardware (OSH) is already influencing commercial hardware development. However, a common belief is that the greater economic cost and complexity of hybrid digital objects (i.e., digital objects with both hardware and software) precludes their development with open source methods traditionally used for software. We study a sophisticated OSH named White Rabbit initiated at CERN and developed through a vibrant and heterogenous open source community. Our findings show that the assumption that hardware and software require fundamentally distinctive development and production modes should be replaced with a more nuanced differentiation characterized by three main attributes describing an object’s composition: embodiment, modularity, and granularity. Taken together, these three attributes determine how a hybrid object is developed throughout its evolution in an open source community. Our research offers several contributions. First, we provide a more nuanced view of the consequences of the material embodiment of hardware. Once considered a simple deterrent to open source development, we describe how economic cost is subordinate to more influential aspects of an object’s physical layers: as the open source community modifies the object to accommodate the operating requirements of diverse physical instantiations, such modifications can be incorporated in the logical design covered by the open source license. Additionally, we show how embodiment, modularity, and granularity progress through the object’s evolution and how this maturation subsequently affects development modes. We trace the implications of our findings for hybrids and digital object conceptualizations in IS research, open source development and, more broadly, normative implications for OSH in scientific and commercial computing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

FROM POTENTIAL TO REALIZED IMPACTS: THE BRIDGING ROLE OF DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURES IN FAIR DATA

Science funders, research institutions and policymakers have been investing heavily in building digital infrastructures that will enable findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) data. Despite the enthusiasm for these infrastructures, many scientists still do not understand how they can be leveraged to advance their research goals. To address this gap, we conduct an inductive qualitative study of a digital infrastructure supporting FAIR data and propose a framework exploring how these infrastructures enable new capabilities in researchers’ workflows. First, we find that these infrastructures facilitate the seamless transition between the storage and analysis of data for new insights. Second, we find that these infrastructures enable researchers to extend their typical individual research workflow to larger scales of collaboration. By exploring the bridging role of digital infrastructures in FAIR, our study hopes to inform the scientific community and policymakers on how to accelerate the adoption of FAIR practices and maximize the future impact of these infrastructures currently under development