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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.03.018 Byline: Chung-Jen Chen (a), Yi-Fen Huang (b) Keywords: Creative workforce; Organizational slack; Innovation performance Abstract: This study examines the effects of creative workforce density and organizational slack on innovation performance. This article suggests an inverse U-shaped relationship between creative workforce density and innovation performance and proposes two governing forces relating to this relationship. Moreover, this study suggests that different slacks vary in affecting innovation. When adding absorbed and unabsorbed slacks as moderators, the relationship between creative workforce density and innovation performance becomes strengthened or attenuated respectively. Comprehensive secondary data on 305 Taiwanese firms in IT sector support the prediction. This article also discusses the managerial implications and highlights future research directions. Author Affiliation: (a) Graduate Institute of Business Administration, College of Management, National Taiwan University, 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C. (b) Department of Business Administration, Dayeh University, 168, University Road, Dacun, Changhua, Taiwan, R.O.C. Article History: Received 1 April 2008; Revised 1 January 2009; Accepted 1 March 2009

Abstract: All members in the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) family of enzymes contain an invariant Cys residue which is absolutely indispensable for catalysis. Due to the unique microenvironment surrounding the active center of PTPs, this Cys residue exhibits an unusually low pKa characteristic, thus being highly susceptible to oxidation or S-nitrosylation. While oxidation-dependent regulation of PTP activity has been extensively examined, the molecular details and biological consequences of PTP S-nitrosylation remain unexplored. We hypothesized that the catalytic Cys residue is targeted by proximal nitric oxide (NO) and its derivatives collectively termed reactive nitrogen species (RNS), leading to nitrosothiol formation concomitant with reversible inactivation of PTPs. To test this hypothesis, we have developed novel strategies to examine the redox status of Cys residues of purified PTP1B that was exposed to NO donor S-Nitroso-N-penicillamine (SNAP). A gel-based method in conjunction with mass spectrometry (MS) analysis revealed that the catalytic Cys215 of PTP1B was reversibly modified when PTP1B was briefly treated with SNAP. In order to further identify the exact mode of NO-induced modification, we employed an online LC–ESI-MS/MS analysis incorporating a mass difference-based, data-dependent acquisition function that effectively mapped the S-nitrosylated Cys residues. Our results demonstrated that treating PTP1B with SNAP led to S-nitrosothiol formation of the catalytic Cys215. Interestingly, SNAP-induced modifications were strictly reversible as highly oxidized Cys derivatives (Cys–SO2H or Cys–SO3H) were not identified by MS analyses. Thus, the methods introduced in this study provide direct evidence to prove the direct link between S-nitrosylation of the catalytic Cys residue and reversible inactivation of PTPs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Both acetonyltriphenylphosphonium bromide (ATPB) and poly-p-styryldiphenylacetonylphosphonium bromide (PATPB) are excellent catalysts in the protection of aldehydes as acetals or thioacetals. In general, ATPB is highly selective as ketones do not give good yields of ketals with this catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous improvement and innovation are solid foundations for the company to maintain excellent performance and competitive advantage. As the limited resources possessed by companies generally result in the incapability of implementing several improving plans simultaneously, researchers advocate that companies should evaluate the influential relationships among key success factors (KSFs) to explore the more dominant determinants for designing improving actions. This study focused on the auto lighting aftermarket (AM) industry in which the KSFs have not yet been adequately performed to explore the decisive criteria of an improvement strategy. After a literature review and a survey of experts, a preliminary list of suitable evaluation criteria was derived. Consequently, the fuzzy and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method were employed to analyze and establish the causal relationship among criteria. This study contributes to the auto lighting AM industry by using a novel approach for identifying and prioritizing the KSFs. The result indicates that product integrity was the "cause" construct on the constructs of operating cost, quality and brand, technology development, and customer satisfaction. These findings contribute to help practitioners better design effective improvement strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]