Innovation Management in Services Industries: The Impacts of Innovative Capacity and Transformative Learning

This study highlights the innovation management and learning perspective of a firm’s innovative capability. The model proposed in this study examines the relationships among competence exploitation, competence exploration, transformative learning, innovation, and performance. This study presents empirical results from 225 service industry in Taiwan. First, the innovative capability factors positively affect transformative learning include competence exploitation and competence exploration. Transformative learning in turn has positive effects both on innovation and performance. Secondly, the rank order effects on innovation are competence exploitation, competence exploration, and transformative learning, respectively. The rank order effects on performance are competence exploration, competence exploitation, and transformative learning, respectively. Finally, transformative learning is the mediating effect of competence exploitation and competence exploration on innovation and performance

mGluR5 antagonism inhibits cocaine reinforcement and relapse by elevation of extracellular glutamate in the nucleus accumbens via a CB1 receptor mechanism.

Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonism inhibits cocaine self-administration and reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this action are poorly understood. Here we report a presynaptic glutamate/cannabinoid mechanism that may underlie this action. Systemic or intra-nucleus accumbens (NAc) administration of the mGluR5 antagonist 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP) dose-dependently reduced cocaine (and sucrose) self-administration and cocaine-induced reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior. The reduction in cocaine-taking and cocaine-seeking was associated with a reduction in cocaine-enhanced extracellular glutamate, but not cocaine-enhanced extracellular dopamine (DA) in the NAc. MPEP alone, when administered systemically or locally into the NAc, elevated extracellular glutamate, but not DA. Similarly, the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist, rimonabant, elevated NAc glutamate, not DA. mGluR5s were found mainly in striatal medium-spiny neurons, not in astrocytes, and MPEP-enhanced extracellular glutamate was blocked by a NAc CB1 receptor antagonist or N-type Ca++ channel blocker, suggesting that a retrograde endocannabinoid-signaling mechanism underlies MPEP-induced glutamate release. This interpretation was further supported by our findings that genetic deletion of CB1 receptors in CB1-knockout mice blocked both MPEP-enhanced extracellular glutamate and MPEP-induced reductions in cocaine self-administration. Together, these results indicate that the therapeutic anti-cocaine effects of mGluR5 antagonists are mediated by elevation of extracellular glutamate in the NAc via an endocannabinoid-CB1 receptor disinhibition mechanism

Ripple effects in global value chains : evidence from an episode of the US–China trade war

This study empirically examines the ripple effect of demand shocks on upstream suppliers in global value chains (GVCs). Specifically, we investigate how changes in US imports from China alter China’s imports of intermediate inputs in machinery industries from Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. To address the simultaneity bias in this input-output linkage, we use the Trump tariffs in an episode of the US–China trade war as an instrument for US import demand from China. The analysis of China’s monthly imports from the three supplier economies during 2018-2019 finds evidence of negative tariff spillover via GVCs: the decrease in China’s output exports to the US caused by the Trump tariffs reduced China’s input imports from supplier economies. Also, this adverse ripple effect was the most significant in Taiwan, where multinational enterprises use China as an export platform, amplifying the adverse demand shock

Wide Dynamic Range Sensing in Photonic Crystal Microcavity Biosensors

Abstract: Typical L-type photonic crystal (PC) microcavities have a dynamic range of approximately 3-4 orders of magnitude in biosensing. We experimentally demonstrated that multiplexing of PC sensors with different geometry can achieve a wide dynamic range covering 6 orders of magnitude with potential for 8 or more orders with suitable optimization. We fabricated PCWs on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices with a 250nm top silicon layer, a 3µm buried oxide layer

Wide Dynamic Range Specific Detection of Therapeutic Drugs by Photonic Crystal Microcavity Arrays

Abstract: Six orders of magnitude wide dynamic range (0.1ng/ml to over 100g/ml), label-free detection of gentamicin small molecules with silicon photonic crystal microcavity biosensors multiplexed by multimode interference power splitters was experimentally demonstrated. Detection specificity was confirmed. The devices were fabricated with CMOS compatible 193nm UV lithography process on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer. The device comprises a 1×4 MMI (multimode interference) power splitter that splits the input light into four optical paths. On each path, an L-type PC microcavity sensor with different sensitivity is located, namely L3, L13, L55 and L13 with defect holes. Before applying any target solution, resonance spectrum for each device was recorded and the resonance position was used as baseline. The chip is then incubated in target solution for 40 min. Several concentrations of the target were measured. After each incubation, the chip was washed with PBS and new spectra were tested and resonance positions were recorded. From the data points i

Effects of dimers on cooperation in the spatial prisoner's dilemma game

We investigate the evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game in structured populations by introducing dimers, which are defined as that two players in each dimer always hold a same strategy. We find that influences of dimers on cooperation depend on the type of dimers and the population structure. For those dimers in which players interact with each other, the cooperation level increases with the number of dimers though the cooperation improvement level depends on the type of network structures. On the other hand, the dimers, in which there are not mutual interactions, will not do any good to the cooperation level in a single community, but interestingly, will improve the cooperation level in a population with two communities. We explore the relationship between dimers and self-interactions and find that the effects of dimers are similar to that of self-interactions. Also, we find that the dimers, which are established over two communities in a multi-community network, act as one type of interaction through which information between communities is communicated by the requirement that two players in a dimer hold a same strategy.Comment: 12 pages and 3 figure

The Flare and Warp of the Young Stellar Disk traced with LAMOST DR5 OB-type stars

We present analysis of the spatial density structure for the outer disk from 8$-$14 \,kpc with the LAMOST DR5 13534 OB-type stars and observe similar flaring on north and south sides of the disk implying that the flaring structure is symmetrical about the Galactic plane, for which the scale height at different Galactocentric distance is from 0.14 to 0.5 \,kpc. By using the average slope to characterize the flaring strength we find that the thickness of the OB stellar disk is similar but flaring is slightly stronger compared to the thin disk as traced by red giant branch stars, possibly implying that secular evolution is not the main contributor to the flaring but perturbation scenarios such as interactions with passing dwarf galaxies should be more possible. When comparing the scale height of OB stellar disk of the north and south sides with the gas disk, the former one is slightly thicker than the later one by $\approx$ 33 and 9 \,pc, meaning that one could tentatively use young OB-type stars to trace the gas properties. Meanwhile, we unravel that the radial scale length of the young OB stellar disk is 1.17 $\pm$ 0.05 \,kpc, which is shorter than that of the gas disk, confirming that the gas disk is more extended than stellar disk. What is more, by considering the mid-plane displacements ($Z_{0}$) in our density model we find that almost all of $Z_{0}$ are within 100 \,pc with the increasing trend as Galactocentric distance increases.Comment: 14 pages and 8 figures, Accepted by APJ for publicatio