A resource-based systems approach to globalization, organization and people: a case study in the outsourcing sector of the US-based global pharmaceutical industry

As an interdisciplinary attempt to explore and demonstrate the complementarity of natural and social sciences and to achieve synergy effects in the contemporary global scholarship of humanistic social and behavioral sciences, this dissertation proposes a resource-based systems approach to the study of globalization. According to this approach, globalization is viewed as the emergent pattern of the resource organizing dynamics of the global ecosystem including human activity systems and their wider context of life support systems. For systems at the global level, global integration and its seemingly homogenizing effect are the strategic structural responses to the constraints and uncertainties caused by world resource attenuation and inequality as well as their interactions with human perceptions and behaviors where rationality is bounded by cognitive and affective limitations. This theory is built upon the principle of self-organization--a natural system’s evolutionary capabilities to self-organize in terms of reducing its internal entropy or increasing the efficiency of its organizing dynamics. Therefore, the resource-based systems approach to globalization is in essence an approach to theorizing the nature of organization in any human activity systems. Concepts and definitions such as resource, knowledge, uniqueness, innovation, learning, culture, social network, personality, identity, life and the spirit of entrepreneurship are discussed under this theory and are substantiated by an ethnographic study of the outsourcing sector of the US-based global pharmaceutical industry, where firm is particularly emphasized as the point of entry. Systems analysis was applied to the transformations under the impact of contemporary globalization and the interacting dynamics at the various constituent levels and dimensions of the global pharmaceutical industry and its environment. Though demonstrating uniqueness and idiosyncrasies, they all exhibit the nature of organization, which refers to a system navigating through complexities and uncertainties and innovatively exploring strategic structural responses to transform constrained relations with the environment to achieve efficiency in its resource organizing dynamics or coherence in the meaning of its living that is essential to its sustainable mode of being. Implications for policy-making are discussed

A System for Detection and Recognition of Pests in Stored-grain based on Video Analysis

Abstract. This paper presents a system for detection and recognition of pests in stored-grain based on video analysis. Unlike current systems which conduct analysis of static images, the proposed system uses video data captured by camera and performs video analysis to detect and recognize pests in grain. By using video data instead of static images, techniques such as motion estimation and multiple-frame verification are used to locate, count and recognize pests. Compared to systems based on image processing, the proposed system is more robust to moving pests and avoids missing and re-counting of moving pests. Furthermore, by analyzing motion of pests in video, the system can only count living pests and ignore dead ones, which are recommended by national standard of grain quality and cannot be achieved by current systems based on static image processing

The mechanism of high contents of oil and oleic acid revealed by transcriptomic and lipidomic analysis during embryogenesis in Carya cathayensis Sarg.

Gene transcription in lipid synthesis. (XLSX 55 kb

Dynamic Changes in Chest CT Images Over 167 Days in 11 Patients with COVID-19: A Case Series and Literature Review

Recently, CT findings have been widely reported to be associated with the clinical severity of COVID-19. However, few studies have reported the correlation between CT findings and long-term outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Herein, we conducted a 167 day long-term follow-up of CT examination on 11 patients with COVID-19 to evaluate their long-term prognosis, particularly in severe cases. We found that the course of COVID-19 can be divided into four stages according to the characteristics of CT images: 1) early stage (1–4 days), with chest CT showing quasi-circular ground-glass shadows and fine mesh shadows; 2) progressive stage (5–10 days), showing lesion spread through the axial interstitium along the bronchi and gradual diffusion to the whole lung; 3) recovery stage (11–74 days), showing gradual absorption of the fibre cord, ground-glass, and consolidation shadows; and 4) normal stage (74 days later), indicating no serious permanent lung injuries. Our data indicate that chest CT can enable early detection of COVID-19 and determination of the different stages of COVID-19. Furthermore, mild cases tended to have better prognosis, whereas severe cases still showed cord-like fibrosis in the lungs in follow-up at the 167th day after symptom onset

Contribution of Stems and Leaves to the Quality of Keemun Black Tea

In order to understand the contribution of stems and leaves to the quality of Keemun black tea, this study analyzed the differences in aroma, taste quality and metabolites among black tea manufactured from tender leaves, tender stems, single buds and intact buds with leaves (mainly one bud with two leaves) from the tea variety ‘Fuzao 2’ by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), sensory evaluation, and preference evaluation. The results showed that all four black teas were sweet aroma type, and the bud-leaf tea had a strong sweet aroma. The single-bud tea had a fresh and brisk taste. The tender-stem tea scored highest in preference evaluation. Metabolite analysis showed the content of catechins was the highest in the single-bud black tea and the lowest in the tender-stem black tea, while free amino acids were significantly enriched in the tender-stem black tea, reaching up to 80 mg/g. The contents of quercetin and rutin were higher in the stem black tea, while the contents of kaempferol-3-O-glucoside and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside were the highest in the leaf black tea. The ratio of thearubigins to theaflavins was 11.6, 9.4, 14.6, and 8.2 in black tea made from intact buds with leaves, buds, leaves, and tender stems, respectively. The total amount of volatile compounds in the tender-stem black tea (32.37 μg/g) was significantly lower than that in the bud (100.01 μg/g), leaf (95.67 μg/g), and bud-leaf black tea (92.42 μg/g). The contents of benzaldehyde, benzeneacetaldehyde and indole were higher in the tender stem black tea, while the contents of β-ionone, α-ionone and linalool oxide in the leaf black tea were higher than those in the other three black teas. This study shows that high contents of theanine in tender stems and glycoside aroma precursors in tea leaves contribute primarily to the formation of the quality of Keemun black tea

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1H NMR-based metabolic profiling combined with multivariate data analysis was used to explore the metabolic phenotype of functional dyspepsia (FD) in stressed rats and evaluate the intervention effects of the Chinese medicine Weikangning (WKN). After a 7-day period of model establishment, a 14-day drug administration schedule was conducted in a WKN-treated group of rats, with the model and normal control groups serving as negative controls. Based on 1H NMR spectra of urine and serum from rats, PCA, PLS-DA, and OPLS-DA were performed to identify changing metabolic profiles. According to the key metabolites determined by OPLS-DA, alterations in energy metabolism, stress-related metabolism, and gut microbiota were found in FD model rats after stress stimulation, and these alterations were restored to normal after WKN administration. This study may provide new insights into the relationship between FD and psychological stress and assist in research into the metabolic mechanisms involved in Chinese medicine

The prebiotic effects of oats on blood lipids, gut microbiota, and short-chain fatty acids in mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects compared with rice: a randomized, controlled trial

20openInternationalInternational coauthor/editorPhytochemicals derived from oats are reported to possess a beneficial effect on modulating dyslipidemia, specifically on lowering total and LDL cholesterol. However, deeper insights into its mechanism remain unclear. In this randomized controlled study, we assigned 210 mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects from three study centers across China (Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai) to consume 80 g of oats or rice daily for 45 days. Plasma lipid profiles, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and fecal microbiota were measured. The results showed that total cholesterol (TC) and non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) decreased significantly with both oats and rice intake after 30 and 45 days. The reduction in TC and non-HDL-C was greater in the participants consuming oats compared with rice at day 45 (p = 0.011 and 0.049, respectively). Oat consumption significantly increased the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila and Roseburia, and the relative abundance of Dialister, Butyrivibrio, and Paraprevotella, and decreased unclassified f-Sutterellaceae. In the oat group, Bifidobacterium abundance was negatively correlated with LDL-C (p = 0.01, r = −0.31) and, TC and LDL-C were negatively correlated to Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (p = 0.02, r = −0.29; p = 0.03, r = −0.27, respectively). Enterobacteriaceae, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were positively correlated with plasma butyric acid and valeric acid concentrations and negatively correlated to isobutyric acid. HDL-C was negatively correlated with valeric acid (p = 0.02, r = −0.25) and total triglyceride (TG) was positively correlated to isovaleric acid (p = 0.03, r = 0.23). Taken together, oats consumption significantly reduced TC and LDL-C, and also mediated a prebiotic effect on gut microbiome. Akkermansia muciniphila, Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, and plasma SCFA correlated with oat-induced changes in plasma lipids, suggesting prebiotic activity of oats to modulate gut microbiome could contribute towards its cholesterol-lowering effect.openXu, Dengfeng; Feng, Meiyuan; Chu, YiFang; Wang, Shaokang; Shete, Varsha; Tuohy, Kieran M; Liu, Feng; Zhou, Xirui; Kamil, Alison; Pan, Da; Liu, Hechun; Yang, Xian; Yang, Chao; Zhu, Baoli; Lv, Na; Xiong, Qian; Wang, Xin; Sun, Jianqin; Sun, Guiju; Yang, YuexinXu, D.; Feng, M.; Chu, Y.; Wang, S.; Shete, V.; Tuohy, K.M.; Liu, F.; Zhou, X.; Kamil, A.; Pan, D.; Liu, H.; Yang, X.; Yang, C.; Zhu, B.; Lv, N.; Xiong, Q.; Wang, X.; Sun, J.; Sun, G.; Yang, Y

Targeting the Endocannabinoid System for Neuroprotection: A 19F-NMR Study of a Selective FAAH Inhibitor Binding with an Anandamide Carrier Protein, HSA

Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the enzyme involved in the inactivation of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA), is being considered as a therapeutic target for analgesia and neuroprotection. We have developed a brain permeable FAAH inhibitor, AM5206, which has served as a valuable pharmacological tool to explore neuroprotective effects of this class of compounds. In the present work, we characterized the interactions of AM5206 with a representative AEA carrier protein, human serum albumin (HSA), using 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Our data showed that as a drug carrier, albumin can significantly enhance the solubility of AM5206 in aqueous environment. Through a series of titration and competitive binding experiments, we also identified that AM5206 primarily binds to two distinct sites within HSA. Our results may provide insight into the mechanism of HSA-AM5206 interactions. The findings should also help in the development of suitable formulations of the lipophilic AM5206 and its congeners for their effective delivery to specific target sites in the brain