Value Changes in Transforming China

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is back on the global agenda. Inthe late 1970s, the process of modernization (reform and opening up under Deng Xiaoping) brought enormous changes to the economy, society and cultural landscape. China has rapidly emerged as a major world power, despite the current global economic crisis. This article explores the changes in Chinese values caused by the expanding economic and cultural exchange processes within the country. Of specific theoretical interest is the role played by the mass media andinformation and communication technologies (ICT), and their bearing on modern Chinese society. Empirically, we first examine China’s placement on a global map of values (based on the World Value Survey), noting recent value shifts. We then offer a comprehensive view of attitudes of Chinese managers, drawing on a quantitative study from Beijing and Shanghai, to highlight the importance ofcultural differences deeply rooted in Chinese society. Finally, implications for cultural relations between West and East are discussed

Alignment: A New Software Architecture Approach to Support Streamlining Business Processes

Traditional business structures nowadays have to change fast to keep up with customers needs, which is often not possible due to monolithic software architectures and multiple software systems that do neither respond to process requirements nor interact well. Many existing software systems, however, are too complex and too unrelated to the business to support this change accurately. New ways of software architecture are needed to respond to changing requirements and support the business processes. Information systems have to be integrated into the organization’s structures. It seems that a component-based software architecture, which supports the whole value chain, forms the basis for a business process reorganization to enable changes. In this paper we introduce a modeling approach based on Clabjects. We demonstrate how that approach can be applied to an industrial case in order to streamline and support the business processes. Further, this paper further describes the envisioned business process improvements

Potential and Limits of Automated Classification of Big Data: A Case Study

This case study highlights the potentials and limits of big-data analyses of media sources compared to conventional, quantitative content analysis. In an FFG-funded multidisciplinary project in Austria (based on the KIRAS security research program), the software tool WebLyzard was used for an automated analysis of online news and social media sources (comments on articles, Facebook postings, and Twitter statements) in order to analyze the media representation of pressing societal issues and citizens’ perceptions of security. Frequency and sentiment analyses were carried out by two independent observers in parallel to the automated WebLyzard results. Specific articles on selected key topics like technology or Muslims in two major online newspapers in Austria (Der Standard and Kronen Zeitung) were counted, as were user comments, and both were evaluated according to different sentiment categories. The results indicate various weaknesses of the software leading to misinterpretations, and the automated analyses yield substantially different results compared to the sentiment analysis carried out by the two raters, especially for cynical or irrelevant statements. From a social-sciences methodological perspective, the results clearly show that methodology in our discipline should promote theory-based research, should counteract the attraction of superficial analyses of complex social issues, and should emphasize not only the potentials but also the dangers and risks associated with big data

Photo-induced Charge Transfer in Azapyrene-Tetrathiafulvalene Triads

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based donor-acceptor (D–A) ensembles have attracted a lot of attention due to their unique (opto)electronic properties and potential applications in organic semiconductors, photovoltaics, sensors, switches and molecular electronics.1-3 To develop high-performance electronic devices, control over multiple charge-transfer (CT) pathways in D-A ensembles is of prime importance. Recently, we have demonstrated chemical and ultrafast optical regulation of distinct photo-induced charge flows within such D-A systems.4,5 As a continuation of our ongoing work, we herein describe redox and optical properties of new D–A ensembles (Chart 1) which were prepared by covalent linkage of two TTF donor units to a central azapyrene acceptor either with or without two tert-butyl groups. A detailed experimental and theoretical study of electronic interactions between D and A units and ICT processes in these triads is presented

Merging of Azulene and Perylene Diimide for Optical pH Sensors

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have emerged as promising materials for organic electronics, including organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Particularly, non-hexagonal ring-fused PAHs are highly desirable due to their unique optoelectronic properties. Herein, a new redox-active azulene-perylene diimide triad 1 and its ring-fused counterpart, diazulenocoronene diimide 2, were synthesized and fully characterized by a combination of NMR, cyclic voltammetry, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Direct comparison of their electronic properties leads us to the conclusion that a significant change in the localization of HOMO and LUMO occurs upon the fusion of azulene and perylene diimide in 2, leading to the lack of intramolecular charge-transfer character for transitions in the visible spectral region. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations were performed to gain further insight into various electronic transitions. Moreover, we found that the adaptive response to acids and bases manifests itself in a reversible two-color change that can be attributed to changes in the chemical structures. Our findings pave the way for manipulating the relative HOMO and LUMO energy levels of organic chromophores by fusing non-alternant azulenes to an otherwise flat PAH, which could possibly lead to applications in organic electronics and optical sensors

The central nervous system of sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) shows positive immunostaining for a chordate glial secretion

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Echinoderms and chordates belong to the same monophyletic taxon, the Deuterostomia. In spite of significant differences in body plan organization, the two phyla may share more common traits than was thought previously. Of particular interest are the common features in the organization of the central nervous system. The present study employs two polyclonal antisera raised against bovine Reissner's substance (RS), a secretory product produced by glial cells of the subcomissural organ, to study RS-like immunoreactivity in the central nervous system of sea cucumbers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the ectoneural division of the nervous system, both antisera recognize the content of secretory vacuoles in the apical cytoplasm of the radial glia-like cells of the neuroepithelium and in the flattened glial cells of the non-neural epineural roof epithelium. The secreted immunopositive material seems to form a thin layer covering the cell apices. There is no accumulation of the immunoreactive material on the apical surface of the hyponeural neuroepithelium or the hyponeural roof epithelium. Besides labelling the supporting cells and flattened glial cells of the epineural roof epithelium, both anti-RS antisera reveal a previously unknown putative glial cell type within the neural parenchyma of the holothurian nervous system.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show that: a) the glial cells of the holothurian tubular nervous system produce a material similar to Reissner's substance known to be synthesized by secretory glial cells in all chordates studied so far; b) the nervous system of sea cucumbers shows a previously unrealized complexity of glial organization. Our findings also provide significant clues for interpretation of the evolution of the nervous system in the Deuterostomia. It is suggested that echinoderms and chordates might have inherited the RS-producing radial glial cell type from the central nervous system of their common ancestor, i.e., the last common ancestor of all the Deuterostomia.</p

Gadobutrol in Renally Impaired Patients: Results of the GRIP Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the potential risk of gadobutrol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment for the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective, international, multicenter, open-label study in 55 centers. Patients with moderate to severe renal impairment scheduled for any gadobutrol-enhanced MRI were included. All patients received a single intravenous bolus injection of gadobutrol at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg body weight. The primary target variable was the number of patients who develop NSF within a 2-year follow-up period. RESULTS: A total of 908 patients were enrolled, including 586 with moderate and 284 with severe renal impairment who are at highest risk for developing NSF. The mean time since renal disease diagnosis was 1.83 and 5.49 years in the moderate and severe renal impairment cohort, respectively. Overall, 184 patients (20.3%) underwent further contrast-enhanced MRI with other gadolinium-based contrast agents within the 2-year follow-up. No patient developed symptoms conclusive of NSF. CONCLUSIONS: No safety concerns with gadobutrol in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment were identified. There were no NSF cases