Towards a Contingency Resource-Based View of IT Business Value

Empirical research on the business value of IT has often been underpinned by the indispensable tenet of resource complementarity in the resource-based view (RBV) and the crucial concept of fit rooted in contingency theory. Increasingly, it has been recognised that IT needs to be integrated with other organisational factors to create business value. However, empirical studies differ in varying degrees from what organisational factors to be examined and their research findings, but also have been largely biased towards examining pairwise relationships between IT and organisational factors. This paper argues that IT is an integral part of a system of interrelated organisational factors and that a holistic approach is required to further understand when, how and why IT creates business value. After summarising what has been learnt from empirical studies of IT business value, this paper discusses the key conceptual issues of internal fit and resource complementarity as currently conceptualised and employed in the research domain. In order to continue advancing knowledge, this paper argues for and presents a contingency RBV to provide an alternative conceptualisation of IT business value. Essentially, the contingency RBV conjectures that the level of IT business value depends on the interaction of a whole system subject simultaneously to multiple moderators and mediators. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion of the value of the contingency RBV and its implications for future research.     

Semi-annual oscillations in Saturn's low-latitude stratospheric temperatures

Observations of oscillations of temperature and wind in planetary atmospheres provide a means of generalizing models for atmospheric dynamics in a diverse set of planets in the Solar System and elsewhere. An equatorial oscillation similar to one in the Earth's atmosphere has been discovered in Jupiter. Here we report the existence of similar oscillations in Saturn's atmosphere, from an analysis of over two decades of spatially resolved observations of its 7.8-microm methane and 12.2-microm ethane stratospheric emissions, where we compare zonal-mean stratospheric brightness temperatures at planetographic latitudes of 3.6 degrees and 15.5 degrees in both the northern and the southern hemispheres. These results support the interpretation of vertical and meridional variability of temperatures in Saturn's stratosphere as a manifestation of a wave phenomenon similar to that on the Earth and in Jupiter. The period of this oscillation is 14.8 +/- 1.2 terrestrial years, roughly half of Saturn's year, suggesting the influence of seasonal forcing, as is the case with the Earth's semi-annual oscillation.     

Gene therapy: is IL2RG oncogenic in T-cell development?

The gene IL2RG encodes the gamma-chain of the interleukin-2 receptor and is mutated in patients with X-linked severe combined immune deficiency (X-SCID). Woods et al. report the development of thymus tumours in a mouse model of X-SCID after correction by lentiviral overexpression of IL2RG and claim that these were caused by IL2RG itself. Here we find that retroviral overexpression of IL2RG in human CD34+ cells has no effect on T-cell development, whereas overexpression of the T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) oncogene LMO2 leads to severe abnormalities. Retroviral expression of IL2RG may therefore not be directly oncogenic--rather, the restoration of normal signalling by the interleukin-7 receptor to X-SCID precursor cells allows progression of T-cell development to stages that are permissive for the pro-leukaemic effects of ectopic LMO2.     

Genome sequence and analysis of the tuber crop potato

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is the world's most important non-grain food crop and is central to global food security. It is clonally propagated, highly heterozygous, autotetraploid, and suffers acute inbreeding depression. Here we use a homozygous doubled-monoploid potato clone to sequence and assemble 86% of the 844-megabase genome. We predict 39,031 protein-coding genes and present evidence for at least two genome duplication events indicative of a palaeopolyploid origin. As the first genome sequence of an asterid, the potato genome reveals 2,642 genes specific to this large angiosperm clade. We also sequenced a heterozygous diploid clone and show that gene presence/absence variants and other potentially deleterious mutations occur frequently and are a likely cause of inbreeding depression. Gene family expansion, tissue-specific expression and recruitment of genes to new pathways contributed to the evolution of tuber development. The potato genome sequence provides a platform for genetic improvement of this vital crop.     

神经模糊网络自适应模糊控制研究

提出了一种由样品辨识、模糊推理和控制处理 3个子网模块构成的基于知识的多层神经网络 .这种网络由各子网分别构成并按照最初的模糊控制结构适当连接而建立 ,具有明确区分各组成子网功能及其知识流结构 .由于综合了模糊逻辑的推理过程及神经网络的学习能力 ,使它能够在其结构中以模糊规则的形式引入语言知识并通过网络的训练及自学习对这些知识进行加工 ,从而实现了真正意义上的自适应模糊控制器 .最后还讨论了这种 NFN网络在动态过程控制中的应用     

Driver mutations in histone H3.3 and chromatin remodelling genes in paediatric glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a lethal brain tumour in adults and children. However, DNA copy number and gene expression signatures indicate differences between adult and paediatric cases. To explore the genetic events underlying this distinction, we sequenced the exomes of 48 paediatric GBM samples. Somatic mutations in the H3.3-ATRX-DAXX chromatin remodelling pathway were identified in 44% of tumours (21/48). Recurrent mutations in H3F3A, which encodes the replication-independent histone 3 variant H3.3, were observed in 31% of tumours, and led to amino acid substitutions at two critical positions within the histone tail (K27M, G34R/G34V) involved in key regulatory post-translational modifications. Mutations in ATRX (α-thalassaemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked) and DAXX (death-domain associated protein), encoding two subunits of a chromatin remodelling complex required for H3.3 incorporation at pericentric heterochromatin and telomeres, were identified in 31% of samples overall, and in 100% of tumours harbouring a G34R or G34V H3.3 mutation. Somatic TP53 mutations were identified in 54% of all cases, and in 86% of samples with H3F3A and/or ATRX mutations. Screening of a large cohort of gliomas of various grades and histologies (n = 784) showed H3F3A mutations to be specific to GBM and highly prevalent in children and young adults. Furthermore, the presence of H3F3A/ATRX-DAXX/TP53 mutations was strongly associated with alternative lengthening of telomeres and specific gene expression profiles. This is, to our knowledge, the first report to highlight recurrent mutations in a regulatory histone in humans, and our data suggest that defects of the chromatin architecture underlie paediatric and young adult GBM pathogenesis.