Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to clarify the different roles of intra-and inter-organizational information and communication technology (ICT) in improving supply chain performance. It proposes different mechanisms to explain how intra-and inter-organizational ICT interact with supply chain integration, and contribute to supply chain performance. The main research question is: What are the distinctive roles of inter-organizational ICT and intra-organizational ICT in improving supply chain performance? Design/methodology/approach -The paper builds on original survey data of 320 Chinese manufacturing firms gathered in China. Findings -The paper shows that inter-organizational ICT has a positive direct relationship with supply chain performance and this relationship is mediated by supply chain integration. Intra-organizational ICT has no direct relationship with supply chain performance. However, intra-organizational ICT moderates the effect of the supply chain integration on supply chain performance.Research limitations/implications -The paper argues that more research into the specific roles and interaction of ICT with business processes is needed in order to better understand its role in improving supply chain performance. Practical implications -For managers the findings show that inter-and intra-organizational ICT play a different role in the improvement of supply chain performance: the first leading to more supply chain integration, which in turn improves performance, while the second needs additional investment in integrative practices to help improve supply chain performance. Originality/value -This paper adds to the debate on the role of ICT in improving supply chain performance and shows that a detailed investigation into underlying mechanisms, and the interaction of ICT with other business processes is valuable.

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Heterometallic Ce IV /M oxo clusters are underexplored yet and can benefit from synergistic properties from combining cerium and other metal cations to produce efficient redox catalysts. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of new Ce 12 V 6 oxo clusters with different capping ligands: Ce 12 V 6 -SO 4 , Ce 12 V 6 -OTs (OTs: toluenesulfonic acid), and Ce 12 V 6 -NBSA (NBSA: nitrobenzenesulfonic acid). Single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) for all three structures reveals a Ce 12 V 6 cubane core formulated [Ce 12 (VO) 6 O 24 ] 18+ with cerium on the edges of the cube, vanadyl capping the faces, and sulfate on the corners. While infrared spectroscopy (IR), ultraviolet−visible spectroscopy (UV− vis), electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and proton nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H NMR) proved the successful coordination of the organic ligands to the Ce 12 V 6 core, liquid phase 51 V NMR and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) confirmed the integrity of the clusters in the organic solutions. Furthermore, functionalization of the Ce 12 V 6 core with organic ligands both provides increased solubility in term of homogeneous application and introduces porosity to the assemblies of Ce 12 V 6 -OTs and Ce 12 V 6 -NBSA in term of heterogeneous application, thus allowing more catalytic sites to be accessible and improving reactivity as compared to the nonporous and less soluble Ce 12 V 6 -SO 4 . Meanwhile, the coordinated ligands also influenced the electronic environment of the catalytic sites, in turn affecting the reactivity of the cluster, which we probed by the selective oxidation of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES). This work provides a strategy to make full use of the catalytic sites within a class of inorganic sulfate capped clusters via organic ligand introduction.

Nerve injuries causing segmental loss require nerve grafting. However, autografts and allografts have limitations for clinical use. Peripheral nerve xenotransplantation has become an area of great interest in clinical surgery research as an alternative graft strategy. However, xenotransplant rejection is severe with cellular immunity, and Th1 cells play an important role in the process. To better understand the process of rejection, we used peripheral nerve xenografts from rats to mice and found that mononuclear cells expressing IFN-γ and IL-17 infiltrated around the grafts, and IFN-γ and IL-17 producing CD4+ and CD8+ T cells increased during the process of acute rejection. The changes of IL-4 level had no significant difference between xenotransplanted group and sham control group. The rejection of xenograft was significantly prevented after the treatment of IL-17 and IFN-γ neutralizing antibodies. These data suggest that Th17 cells contribute to the acute rejection process of peripheral nerve xenotransplant in addition to Th1 cells.

Functional nano-systems have been applied as a promising strategy for transdermal drug delivery and skin therapy.