The use cases of blockchain as an innovative technology have increasingly captured the attention of tourism enterprises. To date, the literature tends to discuss blockchain's advantages rather than how early enterprise adopters and innovators experience and perceive the technology. As such, the extent of technology diffusion is not well understood. This study critically explores the factors influencing blockchain diffusion in tourism and how blockchain innovation is diffused in tourism. We conducted semistructured interviews with founders and senior executives of tourism enterprises in the United States and Europe who are early adopters and innovators of blockchain in tourism. From the thematic analysis, our empirical findings indicate that blockchain has much to offer despite the nascent link between blockchain's business value to an enterprise's strategic plans and the limited success of use cases in tourism. We summarize the findings in a conceptual framework and offer propositions based on the antecedents (motivators and drivers and challenges and barriers) of blockchain diffusion of innovation for enterprises to achieve competitive advantage. The propositions provide a research agenda to guide the strategic implementation of blockchain.
Yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) is extensively cultivated in Indonesia for consumption as a green vegetable. During the 2008 season, a severe outbreak of a virus-like disease occurred in yardlong beans grown in farmers' fields in Bogor, Bekasi, Subang, Indramayu, and Cirebon of West Java, Tanggerang of Banten, and Pekalongan and Muntilan of Central Java. Leaves of infected plants showed severe mosaic to bright yellow mosaic and vein-clearing symptoms, and pods were deformed and also showed mosaic symptoms on the surface. In cv. 777, vein-clearing was observed, resulting in a netting pattern on symptomatic leaves followed by death of the plants as the season advanced. Disease incidence in the Bogor region was approximately 80%, resulting in 100% yield loss. Symptomatic leaf samples from five representative plants tested positive in antigen-coated plate-ELISA with potyvirus group-specific antibodies (AS-573/1; DSMZ, German Resource Center for Biological Material, Braunschweig, Germany) and antibodies to Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV; AS-0929). To confirm these results, viral nucleic acids eluted from FTA classic cards (FTA Classic Card, Whatman International Ltd., Maidstone, UK) were subjected to reverse transcription (RT)-PCR using potyvirus degenerate primers (CIFor: 5'-GGIVVIGTIGGIWSIGGIAARTCIAC-3' and CIRev: 5'-ACICCRTTYTCDATDATRTTIGTIGC-3') (3) and degenerate primers (CMV-1F: 5'-ACCGCGGGTCTTATTATGGT-3' and CMV-1R: 5' ACGGATTCAAACTGGGAGCA-3') specific for CMV subgroup I (1). A single DNA product of approximately 683 base pairs (bp) with the potyvirus-specific primers and a 382-bp fragment with the CMV-specific primers were amplified from ELISA-positive samples. These results indicated the presence of a potyvirus and CMV as mixed infections in all five samples. The amplified fragments specific to potyvirus (four samples) and CMV (three samples) were cloned separately into pCR2.1 (Invitrogen Corp., Carlsbad, CA). Two independent clones per amplicon were sequenced from both orientations. Pairwise comparison of these sequences showed 93 to 100% identity among the cloned amplicons produced using the potyvirus-specific primers (GenBank Accessions Nos. FJ653916, FJ653917, FJ653918, FJ653919, FJ653920, FJ653921, FJ653922, FJ653923, FJ653924, FJ653925, and FJ653926) and 92 to 97% with a corresponding nucleotide sequence of Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) from Taiwan (No. AY575773) and 88 to 90% with BCMV sequences from China (No. AJ312438) and the United States (No. AY863025). The sequence analysis indicated that BCMV isolates from yardlong bean are more closely related to an isolate from Taiwan than with isolates from China and the United States. The CMV isolates (GenBank No. FJ687054) each were 100% identical and 96% identical with corresponding sequences of CMV subgroup I isolates from Thailand (No. AJ810264) and Malaysia (No. DQ195082). Both BCMV and CMV have been documented in soybean, mungbean, and peanut in East Java of Indonesia (2). Previously, BCMV, but not CMV, was documented on yardlong beans in Guam (4). To our knowledge, this study represents the first confirmed report of CMV in yardlong bean in Indonesia and is further evidence that BCMV is becoming established in Indonesia. References: (1) J. Aramburu et al. J. Phytopathol. 155:513, 2007. (2) S. K. Green et al. Plant Dis. 72:994, 1988. (3) C. Ha et al. Arch. Virol. 153:25, 2008. (4) G. C. Wall et al. Micronesica 29:101, 1996.
In this article we present ultra-sensitive, silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based biosensor devices for the detection of disease biomarkers. An electrochemically induced functionalisation method has been employed to graft antibodies targeted against the prostate cancer risk biomarker 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) to SiNW surfaces. The antibody-functionalised SiNW sensor has been used to detect binding of the 8-OHdG biomarker to the SiNW surface within seconds of exposure. Detection of 8-OHdG concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml (3.5 nM) has been demonstrated. The active device has been bonded to a disposable printed circuit which can be inserted into an electronic readout system as part of an integrated Point of Care (POC) diagnostic. The speed, sensitivity and ease of detection of biomarkers using SiNW sensors render them ideal for eventual POC diagnostics.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) host valuable coastal and marine biodiversity that is subjected to multiple pressures under extreme conditions. To mitigate impacts on marine ecosystems, the UAE protects almost 12% of its Exclusive Economic Zone. This study mapped and validated the distribution of key coastal and marine habitats, species and critical areas for their life cycle in the Gulf area of the UAE. We identified gaps in the current protection of these ecological features and assessed the quality of the data used. The overall dataset showed good data quality, but deficiencies in information for the coastline of the north-western emirates. The existing protected areas are inadequate to safeguard key ecological features such as mangroves and coastal lagoons. This study offers a solid basis to understand the spatial distribution and protection of marine biodiversity in the UAE. This information should be considered for implementing effective conservation planning and ecosystem-based management.
The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research.
A combination of fifteen top quark mass measurements performed by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the LHC is presented. The datasets used correspond to an integrated luminosity of up to 5 and 20 fb^{-1} of proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV, respectively. The combination includes measurements in top quark pair events that exploit both the semileptonic and hadronic decays of the top quark, and a measurement using events enriched in single top quark production via the electroweak t channel. The combination accounts for the correlations between measurements and achieves an improvement in the total uncertainty of 31% relative to the most precise input measurement. The result is m_{t}=172.52±0.14(stat)±0.30(syst) GeV, with a total uncertainty of 0.33 GeV.