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Abstract In the context of a highly dynamic environment, there has been a notable focus on the development of innovative knowledge assets. The objective of this paper is to investigate whether there is a relationship between CEO power and innovative knowledge assets, and to examine the joint moderating effect of firm size and firm age on that relationship. This can help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like 8: promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and 9: promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. This paper empirically tested the hypotheses based on a sample of manufacturing firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2009 to 2019. The fixed effect model was employed to examine the relationship between CEO power and innovative knowledge assets, as well as the joint moderating effect of firm size and firm age. The research results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between CEO power and innovative knowledge assets. Moreover, the significant positive relationship between CEO power and innovative knowledge assets is stronger in larger and older firms. This paper contributes to the existing literature on CEO power and firm innovation, and also offering valuable insights for firms seeking to develop innovative knowledge assets.

Abstract The twenty-first century has seen an increase in stakeholders, highlighting the need to discuss the role of corporate social responsibility in technological innovation. The objective of the current research is to examine the role that corporate social responsibility in technological innovation plays in enhancing the sustainable competitive performance of firms. The idea that digital transformation mediates the relationship between corporate social responsibility in technological innovation and sustainable competitive performance is proposed in this study. Additionally, the mastery climate may act as a boundary condition that strengthens the positive relationship between CSR and digital transformation. The data were collected in Chinese firms through a questionnaire. The results supported the mediation and moderation hypotheses, confirming that digital transformation mediates the relationship between corporate social responsibility in technological innovation and sustainable competitive performance. The mastery climate moderates the relationship between corporate social responsibility in technological innovation and digital transformation. The results have implications for theory and practice. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

We used regression analysis to examine the direct and interaction effects of CEO academic experience and CEO duality on digital transformation in order to explain why firms vary in their digital transformation. Data analysis of manufacturing firms listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2022 reveals that both academic experience and duality have significant positive direct effects on digital transformation. Both variables also mutually interact to promote digital transformation. This study not only makes an important contribution to the research on digital transformation and upper echelons theory but also provides useful guidance for firms developing their digitization strategy.

Invention patents are of great importance to firms, and thus understanding how invention patents are achieved is becoming increasingly important in the literature. Although previous research has shown that both CEO career horizon and CEO power are important for invention patents, little attention has been paid to their potential interactive effect. Investigating their interactive effect would be both theoretically meaningful and practically valuable. Using a sample of firms listed on the A-share market of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2022, it is found that there is an interactive effect between CEO career horizon and CEO power, and that their interaction has a negative impact on invention patents. Furthermore, the interactive effect varies across different kinds of firms. This paper contributes to the literature on upper echelons theory by highlighting the interactive effects of multiple CEO characteristics on firm innovation.

Abstract The catch-up of latecomer firms has been a topic of interest because it is closely related to the changes in industry leadership. The reason why some countries are more successful in catch-up is because of their increasing mastery of technology management (TM). Therefore, to ensure successful catch-up, it is imperative for latecomer firms to understand the TM practices and TM modes across national boundaries. This paper aims to reveal the differences in TM practices and TM modes between latecomer firms and forerunner firms. This paper collected data from Chinese firms and Korean firms as latecomers and forerunners, respectively, to examine the differences in TM practices and TM modes. The results show that latecomer firms place more emphasis on grasping the condition of firms’ equipment, understanding technology talents required by business, and completing files on technology information. While forerunner firms stress learning from other competitors, effective training, and constructing detailed technology information management system most. Furthermore, the relationship between TM and product innovation performance is more integrated for forerunner firms compared to latecomer firms. A key contribution of this paper is to reveal the differences in TM practices and TM modes between latecomer firms and forerunner firms, which enriches the catch-up literature from an international comparative perspective. As such, this paper is of great importance in broadening the understanding of how latecomer firms transform into global leaders.

Abstract Radical innovation is necessary for firms to transform existing markets or create new ones, which has critical impact on firm performance. Therefore, there is a need to explore how radical innovation can be successfully achieved. Entrepreneurial orientation reflects a firm’s willingness to be innovative, proactive and risk-taking, which has been recognized as a key factor contributing to firm innovation. However, the specific focus on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and radical innovation is very limited. This paper therefore investigates how entrepreneurial orientation affects radical innovation by considering the contingency effects of board characteristics. Using the panel data of listed manufacturing firms in China from 2013 to 2019, this paper found that entrepreneurial orientation has a significant positive impact on radical innovation. Furthermore, different board characteristics play asymmetric moderating roles in that relationship in such a way that CEO duality and board independence play positive moderating roles, while board ownership and board size play negative moderating roles. This paper contributes to the entrepreneurial orientation literature by providing a finer-grained understanding of the role of entrepreneurial orientation on radical innovation. This paper also contributes to the corporate governance literature by revealing the asymmetric contingency effects of different board characteristics.

IntroductionThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of online shopping context cues (price discount, carbon label, and social commentary) on college students’ trust/perceived risk and cross-border purchase intention (CBPI) for low-carbon products and compare the study between South Korean and Chinese college students. The theoretical framework is established by integrating the S-O-R model and valence framework. The variable of stimuli (S) is the driving force in the purchase behavior that influences the individual organism (O) and its subsequent response (R). Based on this logic, this study draws on the valence framework to hypothesize the effects of online shopping context cues (price discount, carbon label, and social commentary) on college students’ trust/perceived risk and cross-border purchase intention (CBPI) for low-carbon products.MethodsThis study conducted two online experiment-questionnaire studies and one between-subject lab experiment to test the hypotheses.ResultsWe found that all three context cues have significant positive effects on trust and negative effects on perceived risk. College students’ trust positively and perceived risk negatively impact college students’ CBPI for low-carbon products. In addition, based on different cultures, languages, and education, this study investigates the moderating effect of college students’ nationality on their significantly different cue processing modes for low-carbon products.DiscussionThe findings provide new insights into better understanding the factors affecting college students’ low-carbon consumption behavior in a CBEC setting and have some practical implications.

Background Controlling the epidemic spread and establishing the immune barrier in a short time through accurate vaccine demand prediction and optimised vaccine allocation strategy are still urgent problems to be solved under the condition of frequent virus mutations.Methods A cross-regional Susceptible-Exposed-Infected-Removed dynamic model was used for scenario simulation to systematically elaborate and compare the effects of different cross-regional vaccine allocation strategies on the future development of the epidemic in regions with different population sizes, prevention and control capabilities, and initial risk levels. Furthermore, the trajectory of the cross-regional vaccine allocation strategy, calculated using a particle swarm optimisation algorithm, was compared with the trajectories of other strategies.Results By visualising the final effect of the particle swarm optimisation vaccine allocation strategy, this study revealed the important role of prevention and control (including the level of social distancing control, the speed of tracking and isolating exposed and infected individuals, and the initial frequency of mask-wearing) in determining the allocation of vaccine resources. Most importantly, it supported the idea of prioritising control in regions with a large population and low initial risk level, which broke the general view that high initial risk needs to be given priority and proposed that outbreak risk should be firstly considered instead.Conclusions This is the first study to use a particle swarm optimisation algorithm to study the cross-regional allocation of COVID-19 vaccines. These data provide a theoretical basis for countries and regions to develop more targeted and sustainable vaccination strategies.KEY MESSAGEThe innovative combination of particle swarm optimisation and cross-regional SEIR model to simulate the pandemic trajectory and predict the vaccine demand helped to speed up and stabilise the construction of the immune barrier, especially faced with new virus mutations.We proposed that priority should be given to regions where it is possible to prevent more infections rather than regions where it is at high initial risk, thus regional outbreak risk should be considered when making vaccine allocation decisions.An optimal health-oriented strategy for vaccine allocation in the COVID-19 pandemic is determined considering both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical policy interventions, including speed of isolation, degree of social distancing control, and frequency of mask-wearing.

In this work, a phononic crystal gradient metamaterial structure (PCGMs) is proposed based on the strong wave compression effect coupled with equivalent medium theory to achieve enhancement and directional sensing of weak target acoustic signals. Compared with the conventional gradient structure, PCGMs exhibit superior acoustic enhancement performance and wider range of acoustic response capability. Numerical analysis and experimental validation consistently demonstrate that PCGMs can effectively enhance the target frequency signals in harmonic signals. This study breaks through the detection limit of acoustic sensing systems and provides a great method for engineering applications of weak acoustic signal perception.

Oxidative stress is an essential component in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and the transcription factor NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) plays critical roles in protecting the body against oxidative stress. To clarify the roles of Nrf2 in protecting against DKD, in this study we prepared compound mutant mice with diabetes and loss of antioxidative defense. Specifically, we prepared compound Ins2Akita/+ (Akita) and Nrf2 knockout (Akita::Nrf2−/−) or Akita and Nrf2 induction (Akita::Keap1FA/FA) mutant mice. Eighteen-week-old Akita::Nrf2−/− mice showed more severe diabetic symptoms than Akita mice. In the Akita::Nrf2−/− mouse kidneys, the glomeruli showed distended capillary loops, suggesting enhanced mesangiolysis. Distal tubules showed dilation and an increase in 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine-positive staining. In the Akita::Nrf2−/− mouse kidneys, the expression of glutathione (GSH) synthesis-related genes was decreased, and the actual GSH level was decreased in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging analysis. Akita::Nrf2−/− mice exhibited severe inflammation and enhancement of infiltrated macrophages in the kidney. To further examine the progression of DKD, we compared forty-week-old Akita mouse kidney compounds with Nrf2-knockout or Nrf2 mildly induced (Akita::Keap1FA/FA) mice. Nrf2-knockout Akita (Akita::Nrf2−/−) mice displayed severe medullary cast formation, but the formation was ameliorated in Akita::Keap1FA/FA mice. Moreover, in Akita::Keap1FA/FA mice, tubule injury and inflammation-related gene expression were significantly suppressed, which was evident in Akita::Nrf2−/− mouse kidneys. These results demonstrate that Nrf2 contributes to the protection of the kidneys against DKD by suppressing oxidative stress and inflammation.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is a common form of primary glomerulonephritis and its main pathological changes are mesangial cell proliferation and matrix expansion. Autophagy inhibition may result in its mesangial cell proliferation and renal lesions. SUMOylation is a eukaryotic-reversible post-translational modification where SUMO is covalently attached to target proteins to regulate their properties. It is largely unclear whether SUMOylation contributes to the pathogenesis of IgAN. This study was designed to investigate the change of protein SUMO1 in mesangial cells of IgAN and its association with autophagy. We found the expression of SUMO1 was upregulated in IgAN, IgA mouse model, and aIgA1-stimulated mesangial cells. In aIgA1-stimulated mesangial cell model, we tested LC3II/I and p62, the autophagy-related proteins suggested the inhibition of autophagy. Inhibited SUMOylation with ginkgolic acid (GA) or silencing SUMO1 could downregulate SUMO1 and SUMO1-p53, promote autophagy, and lessen cell proliferation. In summary, in the mesangial cells stimulated with aIgA1, SUMO1 may contribute to its cell proliferation through inhibited autophagy, and SUMO1-p53 may play a role in this process.

Despite the growing importance of management practices, few studies have empirically examined the influence of technology management on product innovation, especially in the presence of technological capability. This article explores how technology management relates to product innovation through the contingency role of technological capability. The results of correspondence analysis to test the proposed hypotheses showed that the technology management practices that are closely associated with product innovation performance are not identical in different technological capability stages. In the low technological capability stage, information management, equipment management and fund management have greater correlations with product innovation performance; in the medium technological capability stage, human resource management, organization management, quality management and standardized management have greater correlations with product innovation performance; in the high technological capability stage, cultural management, achievement management, and risk management have greater correlations with product innovation performance. The research results theoretically deepen the understanding of how technology management exerts its impact and provide theoretical guidance for the improvement of product innovation performance for firms in different technological capability stages.

New product development (NPD) determines firms' current market positions, and it also has far-reaching impacts on firms' future development. According to the resource-based view, technological capability and technology management capability are critical resources and capabilities for NPD. However, the research to date has not investigated the complementarity between these factors. This paper employs fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) to explore how technological capability and technology management capability combine to produce high NPD performance. The analysis results show that in order to achieve high NPD performance, technological capability and technology management capability should be combined. Furthermore, the combinations of technological capability and technology management capability in different NPD stages are different. This paper deepens the theoretical understanding of the relationships between resources and capabilities in NPD by identifying the equifinality effect of the combinations of technological capability and technology management capability. In addition, this paper also provides theoretical guidance for firms to clarify the relationship between technological capability and technology management capability to improve NPD performance.

Background/Aims: There is an increasing risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among Asian people with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN). A computer-aided system for ESRD prediction in Asian IgAN patients has not been well studied. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed biopsy-proven IgAN patients treated at the Department of Nephrology of the Second Xiangya Hospital from January 2009 to November 2013. Demographic and clinicopathological data were obtained within 1 month of renal biopsy. A random forest (RF) model was employed to predict the ESRD status in IgAN patients. All cases were initially trained and validated, taking advantage of the out-of-bagging(OOB) error. Predictors used in the model were selected according to the Gini impurity index in the RF model and verified by logistic regression analysis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve (AUC) and F-measure were used to evaluate the RF model. Results: A total of 262 IgAN patients were enrolled in this study with a median follow-up time of 4.66 years. The importance rankings of predictors of ESRD in the RF model were first obtained, indicating some of the most important predictors. Logistic regression also showed that these factors were statistically associated with ESRD status. We first trained an initial RF model using gender, age, hypertension, serum creatinine, 24-hour proteinuria and histological grading suggested by the Clinical Decision Support System for IgAN (CDSS, www.IgAN.net). This 6-predictor model achieved a F-measure of 0.8 and an AUC of 92.57%. By adding Oxford-MEST scores, this model outperformed the initial model with an improved AUC (96.1%) and F-measure (0.823). When C3 staining was incorporated, the AUC was 97.29% and F-measure increased to 0.83. Adding the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) improved the AUC to 95.45%. We also observed improved performance of the model with additional inputs of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid, hemoglobin and albumin. Conclusion: In addition to the predictors in the CDSS, Oxford-MEST scores, C3 staining and eGFR conveyed additional information for ESRD prediction in Chinese IgAN patients using a RF model.

Abstract Renal biopsy has been widely recommended in clinic to determine the histological patterns of kidney disease. To prevent bleeding complications, patients should routinely stop anticoagulants prior to renal biopsy. However, patients with kidney disease are susceptible to thromboembolisms, particularly in those with severe hypoalbuminemia. This study was designed to investigate the application of serum D-dimer as a predictor for thrombotic events after renal biopsy. 400 consecutive native renal biopsies were prospectively included in this 2-month follow-up study. The overall incidence of bleeding and thrombotic complication is 4%, including hematuria or large perinephric hematoma (2.5%, n = 10) and thrombotic complication (1.5%, n = 6). Compared to low serum D-dimer (

Abstract The predictive effect of combining MEST with clinical data at biopsy on renal survival outcomes has not been investigated in patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN). MEST of The Oxford classification of IgAN and 24-hour urine proteinuia measured at enrollment. The primary outcome was a composite of either ESRD (eGFR to 3 years, and were divided into two groups according to eGFR levels at biopsy. Multivariable logistical regression revealed that proteinuria at biopsy (OR 5.307 (95% Cl 3.003 to 9.376) p = 0.000), tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis scores (T) in MEST (OR 3.915 (95%Cl 2.710 to 5.654) p = 0.000) were the two predictors of eGFR decline for IgAN patients. Kaplan–Meier survival curves show significant difference in renal survival outcome among each T scores groups at biopsy (T0, T1, T2) (P

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of online shopping context cues (price discount, carbon label, and social commentary) on college students' trust/perceived risk and cross-border purchase intention (CBPI) for low-carbon products and compare the study between South Korean and Chinese college students. The theoretical framework is established by integrating the S-O-R model and valence framework. The variable of stimuli (S) is the driving force in the purchase behavior that influences the individual organism (O) and its subsequent response (R). Based on this logic, this study draws on the valence framework to hypothesize the effects of online shopping context cues (price discount, carbon label, and social commentary) on college students' trust/perceived risk and cross-border purchase intention (CBPI) for low-carbon products. Methods: This study conducted two online experiment-questionnaire studies and one between-subject lab experiment to test the hypotheses. Results: We found that all three context cues have significant positive effects on trust and negative effects on perceived risk. College students' trust positively and perceived risk negatively impact college students' CBPI for low-carbon products. In addition, based on different cultures, languages, and education, this study investigates the moderating effect of college students' nationality on their significantly different cue processing modes for low-carbon products. Discussion: The findings provide new insights into better understanding the factors affecting college students' low-carbon consumption behavior in a CBEC setting and have some practical implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is immune-mediated primary glomerulonephritis, which is the most common reason leading to renal failure worldwide. The exact pathogenesis of IgAN is not well defined. Accumulating evidence indicates that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial roles in the immune disease by involving in the competing endogenousRNA(ceRNA) network mechanism. At present, the studies of the circRNA profiles and circRNA-associated ceRNA networks in the IgAN are still scarce. This study aimed to elucidate the potential roles of circRNA-associated ceRNA networks of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in IgAN patients Method. CircRNA sequencing was used to identify the differential expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) of PBMCs in IgAN and healthy controls; limma packages from data sets GSE25590 and GSE73953 in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, were used to identify differentially expressed micro RNAs (miRNAs) and message RNAs (mRNAs). A circRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network was constructed to further investigate the mechanisms of IgAN. Then, GO analysis and KEGG enrichment analyses were used to annotate the genes involved in the circRNA-associated ceRNA network. Further, Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks were established to screen potential hub genes, by using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING). Last, a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was applied to verify the hub genes in the ceRNA network. Result. A total of 145 circRNAs, 22 miRNAs, and 1,117 mRNAs were differentially expressed in IgAN compared with controls (P <0:05). A ceRNA network was constructed which contained 16 DEcircRNAs, 72 differential expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and 11 differential expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs). KEGG pathway enrichment analysis illustrated the underlying biological functions of the ceRNA-associated genes, such as Nitrogen compound metabolic process, COPII-coated ER to Golgi transport vesicle, CAMP response element protein binding process (P <0:01); meanwhile, Hepatitis B, GnRH signaling, and Prion disease were the most significant enrichment GO terms (P <0:01). PPI network based on STRING analysis identified 4 potentially hub genes. Finally, Ankyrin repeat and SOCS box containing 16 (ASB16), SEC24 homolog C, COPII coat complex component (SEC24C) were confirmed by qRT-PCR (P <0:05) and were identified as the hub genes of the ceRNA network in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hookworm infections are rare causes of acute gastrointestinal bleeding. We report a middle aged man with primary nephrotic syndrome and pulmonary embolism. During the treatment with steroids and anticoagulants, the patient presented acute massive hemorrhage of the gastrointestinal tract. The results of gastroscopy showed red worms in the duodenum. Colonoscopy and CT angiogram of abdomen were unremarkable. Capsule endoscopy revealed fresh blood and multiple hookworms in the jejunum and ileum. Hookworms caused the acute intestinal bleeding. The patient responded well to albendazole. Hematochezia was markedly ameliorated after eliminating the parasites. Hence, hookworm infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding. Capsule endoscopy may offer a better means of diagnosis for intestinal hookworm infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]