Behavioral and technical perspectives of green supply chain management practices:Empirical evidence from an emerging market

Recently, companies in emerging markets have implemented green supply chain management (GSCM) practices to tackle environmental issues. Drawing upon socio-technical systems theory, this study develops a conceptual model suggesting a sequential effect between two distinct categories of GSCM practices, namely behavioral (human and soft aspects) and technical (tangible and hard aspects) practices, on performance. We employ structural equation modeling method to test hypotheses based on survey responses from 200 Chinese manufacturers. The categorization of behavioral and technical GSCM practices and research findings contribute to the GSCM literature. Statistical results demonstrate the complete mediation effect of technical GSCM practices (e.g., green design, green manufacturing and reverse logistics) on the relationship between behavioral GSCM practices (e.g., relationship with customers and suppliers) and organizational performance. Such results recommend that companies in emerging markets should highlight behavioral GSCM practices first and then implement necessary technical GSCM practices to reap economic, environmental and operational performance

Tim-3 regulates the immunosuppressive function of decidual MDSCs via the Fyn-STAT3-C/EBPβ pathway during Toxoplasma gondii infection.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) play a key role in maintaining maternal-fetal tolerance for a successful pregnancy, but the role of MDSCs in abnormal pregnancy caused by Toxoplasma gondii infection is unknown. Herein, we revealed a distinct mechanism by which T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain containing protein-3 (Tim-3), an immune checkpoint receptor that balances maternal-fetal tolerance during pregnancy, contributes to the immunosuppressive function of MDSCs during T. gondii infection. The expression of Tim-3 in decidual MDSCs was significantly downregulated following T. gondii infection. The proportion of monocytic MDSCs population, the inhibitory effect of MDSCs on T-cell proliferation, the levels of STAT3 phosphorylation, and the expression of functional molecules (Arg-1 and IL-10) in MDSCs were all decreased in T. gondii-infected pregnant Tim-3 gene knockout (Tim-3KO) mice compared with infected pregnant WT mice. After treatment with Tim-3-neutralizing Ab in vitro, the expression levels of Arg-1, IL-10, C/EBPβ, and p-STAT3 were decreased, the interaction between Fyn and Tim-3 or between Fyn and STAT3 was weakened, and the binding ability of C/EBPβ to the promoters of ARG1 and IL10 was decreased in human decidual MDSCs with T. gondii infection, while opposite results were observed following treatment with galectin-9 (a ligand for Tim-3). Inhibitors of Fyn and STAT3 also downregulated the expression of Arg-1 and IL-10 in decidual MDSCs and exacerbated adverse pregnancy outcomes caused by T. gondii infection in mice. Therefore, our studies discovered that the decrease of Tim-3 after T. gondii infection could downregulate the functional molecules of Arg-1 and IL-10 expression in decidual MDSCs through the Fyn-STAT3-C/EBPβ signaling pathway and weaken their immunosuppressive function, which eventually contribute to the development of adverse pregnancy outcomes

Additional file 1: of RNA virus receptor Rig-I monitors gut microbiota and inhibits colitis-associated colorectal cancer

Figure S1. Scoring criteria of RIG-I immunohistochemical staining. Figure S2. Analytical procedures of high-throughput sequencing data. Figure S3. Induction of colorectal tumors in mice. a The induction procedure of colorectal tumor. Wt mice (n = 10) and Rig-I −/− littermates (n = 11) were treated with AOM and DSS. All mice were sacrificed at the end of the procedure. b Colon length and diameter of wt and Rig-I −/− mice were shown. c H & E staining of untreated colon sections related to Fig 2c. Scale bar, 100 μm. Figure S4. Diversity of the gut microbiota between wild-type and Rig-I −/− mice. a P-values of P-tests on the NJ tree. The letter “W” and numbers represented week number. b Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to compare bacterial families across different groups. The percentage of variation explained by each principal component was indicated on the axis. Figure S5. Western blot analysis. a Western blot analysis in untreated mouse colons. b Western blot analysis in AOM/DSS-treated adjacent or tumor colons. Table S1. Primers used in this study. Table S2. Numbers of cases for each given score related to Fig. 2d and e. (DOCX 1089 kb