The interplay between social capital and international opportunities: a processual study of international ‘take-off’ episodes in Chinese SMEs

The paper presents a processual analysis of international take-off episodes in Chinese SMEs. In considering the dynamics of pre-internationalization, the paper posits four temporally finer-grained, phases based on an actor’s orientation towards international opportunities. Based on a sample of twenty Chinese SMEs, the paper theorizes 12 temporally fine-grained take-off episodes, or which appear in practice as a series of tactical moves through which Chinese SMEs advance through the four phases in the longer pre-internationalisation of the process. By considering the multi-dimensional nature of social capital in international take-off, the findings contribute to a greater understanding of how forming international relationships work in the context of pre-internationalization in SMEs, also adding insights into the dynamics of internationalisation as an entrepreneurial and networked endeavour

Hydrochlorination of Acetylene Catalyzed by an Activated Carbon-Supported Ammonium Hexachlororuthenate Complex

Ammonium hexachlororuthenate ((NH4)2RuCl6) complex was used as a catalyst precursor and coconut activated carbon (AC) was used as the support in the preparation process of the Ru-based catalyst. (NH4)2RuCl6/AC catalyst was prepared via an incipient wetness impregnation method and assessed in an acetylene hydrochlorination reaction. Meanwhile, the (NH4)2RuCl6/AC catalyst was analyzed with low-temperature N2 adsorption/desorption, thermogravimetry (TG), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) techniques. Catalytic performance test results show that the (NH4)2RuCl6/AC catalyst exhibits a superior catalytic activity with the highest acetylene conversion of 90.5% under the conditions of 170 °C and an acetylene gas hourly space velocity of 180 h−1. The characterization results illustrate that the presence of the NH4+ cation can inhibit coke deposition as well as the agglomeration of ruthenium particles, and it can also enhance the adsorption ability for reactant HCl, hence improving the catalytic activity and stability

The Rostral Ventromedial and Lateral Medulla Are the Major Areas Responsive to Lung Cancer Progression among Brainstem Lung-Innervating Nuclei

In recent years, the information crosstalk between the central nervous system and the periphery has been a hot topic, such as the brain–gut axis, brain–lung axis, etc. Among them, some studies have shown that brainstem nuclei activity can significantly affect the progression of peripheral tumor; however, regarding lung cancer, our understanding of the basic characteristics of the lung-innervating brain nuclei responsive to lung cancer progression remains deficient. Therefore, we used the pseudorabies virus for retrograde labeling of nerves to study the neural circuits between the lung and brain. We then established a mouse orthotopic lung cancer model and used the expression of the c-Fos gene in brain regions to characterize activated brain circuits and compared these results with those of the control group. We focused on c-Fos activity in nuclei associated with retrograde tracing regions of the brainstem. We found over 16 nuclei in the whole brain with direct or indirect lung innervation through neural retrograde labeling with the pseudorabies virus. We further revealed that the neuronal activity of the rostral ventrolateral reticular nucleus (RVL), caudal nucleus of Raphe (raphe obscurus nucleus, ROb), Raphe pallidus nucleus (RPa), and ventral gigantocellular reticular nucleus (GiV) in the rostral ventromedial and lateral medulla were significantly changed in an orthotopic lung cancer mouse model by the immunostaining of c-Fos early responsive protein. Thus, the distinctive rostroventral medulla area, functionally closely related to the vagus nerve, likely plays a role in central neural interaction with peripheral lung tumors and deserves future investigation

Tandem Molecular Self-Assembly Selectively Inhibits Lung Cancer Cells by Inducing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

The selective formation of nanomaterials in cancer cells and tumors holds great promise for cancer diagnostics and therapy. Until now, most strategies rely on a single trigger to control the formation of nanomaterials in situ. The combination of two or more triggers may provide for more sophisticated means of manipulation. In this study, we rationally designed a molecule (Comp. 1) capable of responding to two enzymes, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and reductase. Since the A549 lung cancer cell line showed elevated levels of extracellular ALP and intracellular reductase, we demonstrated that Comp. 1 responded in a stepwise fashion to those two enzymes and displayed a tandem molecular self-assembly behavior. The selective formation of nanofibers in the mitochondria of the lung cancer cells led to the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane, resulting in an increased level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the release of cytochrome C (Cyt C). ROS can react with proteins, resulting in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR). This severe ER stress led to disruption of the ER, formation of vacuoles, and ultimately, apoptosis of the A549 cells. Therefore, Comp. 1 could selectively inhibit lung cancer cells in vitro and A549 xenograft tumors in vivo. Our study provides a novel strategy for the selective formation of nanomaterials in lung cancer cells, which is powerful and promising for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer

Bland-Altman plots showing inter-observer variability of measurements.

<p>(A) Upper: for R2* values, (B) middle: for phase values, and (C) lower: for FA values. CN: caudate nucleus; ALIC: anterior limb of the internal capsule; PLIC: posterior limb of the internal capsule; L: left; R: right.</p

Regional phase value vs. postmenstrual age in the white matter regions.

<p>Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the phase values and postmenstrual age in ALIC and PLIC (<i>P</i><0.001). r is the coefficient of correlation. As for phase values in GCC and SCC, no correlations with postmenstrual age were found (<i>P</i>>0.05). ALIC: anterior limb of the internal capsule; PLIC: posterior limb of the internal capsule; GCC: genu of the corpus callosum; SCC: splenium of the corpus callosum.</p

Regional R2* value vs. postmenstrual age in deep gray nuclei.

<p>Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between the R2* values and postmenstrual age in gray nuclei (<i>P</i><0.001). r is the coefficient of correlation. CN: caudate nucleus; PUT: putamen; GP: globus pallidus; THA: thalamus; RN: red nucleus; SN: substantia nigra.</p

The R2* values (1/sec) in the four WM regions in eight periods (Mean ± SD, n = 56).

<p>Note: Infants were divided into eight groups according to the postmenstrual age (PMA).</p><p>M: male; ALIC: anterior limb of the internal capsule; PLIC: posterior limb of the internal capsule; GCC: genu of the corpus callosum; SCC: splenium of the corpus callosum.</p