Social Burden, Social Venture or Social Responsibility? A Reflection on CSR in China and CSR Strategy Suggestions for Multinational Companies in China

Thirty years into its reform and opening, the People’s Republic of China (referred to as China) has become aware of many international practices, including corporate social responsibility (CSR). Yet FOR Chinese enterprises, CSR seems similar to the heavy social burdens of THE state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The “cradle-to-grave” welfare system, notorious but standard in THE planned economy, played a role in the failure of most SOEs to compete with the new, burgeoning private sector. Although laws were promulgated to free the SOEs from their “social burdens,” the new township enterprises set a different example. Some of the latter even profited from their “social ventures.” A comparison of the approach of the state sector and that of township enterprises sheds light on how MNCs can best tailor their CSR strategies to the Chinese situation

Effect of the supplementation of exogenous complex non-starch polysaccharidases on the growth performance, rumen fermentation and microflora of fattening sheep

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of exogenous non-starch polysaccharidases (a mixture of cellulase, xylanase, β-glucanase and mannanase) on the growth performance and nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and rumen microflora of sheep. The animal trial was conducted using 36 5-month-old female fattening hybrid sheep (Duolang♂ × Hu♀) who were randomly assigned into four groups comprising nine sheep per treatment: CON, T1, T2, and T3, with 0, 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5% NSPases/kg DM of TMR, respectively. This complex enzyme product was screened for optimal ratios based on previous in vitro tests and responded positively to the in vitro fermentation of the TMR. When treated with NSPases, there was a non-linear effect of average daily gain and feed conversion rate, with the greatest improvement observed in the T2 group. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in nutrient intake or apparent digestibility among the NSPase-supplemented groups. In addition, T2 group had a significantly higher acetate to propionate ratio and pH (p < 0.05) than the other groups, and NH3-N and microbial protein concentrations showed a quadratic curve. The results revealed that both immunoglobulins and serum hormones increased linearly with addition (p < 0.05). As the T2 group showed the best growth performance, the CON and T2 groups were subjected to rumen metagenomic analysis. The results showed higher abundance of bacteria and lower abundance of Viruses in the rumen microbiota of the T2 group compared to the CON group. In addition, Uroviricota and Proteobacteria abundance was significantly lower in the T2 group than in the CON group at the phylum level (p < 0.05). These results suggest that the supplementation of high-concentrate rations with NSPases enhance immunity, reduces virus abundance in the rumen, improves rumen health, and promotes rumen fermentation. Our findings provide novel insights for improving growth performance and alleviating inflammatory responses arising from high concentrate feeding patterns in ruminants. However, the biological mechanisms cannot be elucidated by exploring the composition of rumen microbe alone, and further studies are required

Heterogeneous N2O5 reactions on atmospheric aerosols at four Chinese sites : improving model representation of uptake parameters

Heterogeneous reactivity of N2O5 on aerosols is a critical parameter in assessing NOx fate, nitrate production, and particulate chloride activation. Accurate measurement of its uptake coefficient (gamma N2O5) and representation in air quality models are challenging, especially in the polluted environment. With an in situ aerosol flow-tube system, the gamma N2O5 was directly measured on ambient aerosols at two rural sites in northern and southern China. The results were analyzed together with the gamma N2O5 derived from previous field studies in China to obtain a holistic picture of gamma N2O5 uptake and the influencing factors under various climatic and chemical conditions. The field-derived or measured gamma N2O5 was generally promoted by the aerosol water content and suppressed by particle nitrate. Significant discrepancies were found between the measured gamma N2O5 and that estimated from laboratory-determined parameterizations. An observation-based empirical parameterization was derived in the present work, which better reproduced the mean value and variability of the observed gamma N2O5. Incorporating this new parameterization into a regional air quality model (WRF-CMAQ) has improved the simulation of N2O5, nitrogen oxides, and secondary nitrate in the polluted regions of China.Peer reviewe

Consensus of synchronization-preferential scale-free networks

AbstractIn this paper, the relations of the scale-free network topology and the moving consensus of multi-agent systems are studied. A synchronization-preferential BA (SPBA) network with the combinatorial preferential attachment is presented for the prestissimo consensus. The effects of the SPBA network on the algebraic connectivity of the topology graph are compared with the standard BA network. The robustness gain to delay is analyzed for variable network topologies with the same size. The characteristics of dramatic increase for the algebraic connectivity and slightly increase for the robustness gain to delay are unfolded in SPBA network. By comparing the convergence time of the different network structures, the consensuses are studied for multiagent systems with and without communication delays

Fault Diagnosis Method for Space Fluid Loop Systems Based on Improved Evidence Theory

Addressing the challenges posed by the complexity of the structure and the multitude of sensor types installed in space application fluid loop systems, this paper proposes a fault diagnosis method based on an improved D-S evidence theory. The method first employs the Gaussian affiliation function to convert the information acquired by sensors into BPA functions. Subsequently, it utilizes a pignistic probability transformation to convert the multiple subset focal elements into single subset focal elements. Finally, it comprehensively evaluates the credibility and uncertainty factors between evidences, introducing Bray–Curtis dissimilarity and belief entropy to achieve the fusion of conflicting evidence. The proposed method is initially validated on the classic Iris dataset, demonstrating its reliability. Furthermore, when applied to fault diagnosis in space application fluid circuit loop pumps, the results indicate that the method can effectively fuse multiple sensors and accurately identify faults

Safety Impact Analysis Considering Physical Failures and Cyber-Attacks for Mechanically Pumped Loop Systems (MPLs)

As complex systems composed of physical and cyber components, mechanically pumped loop systems (MPLs) are vulnerable to both passive threats (e.g., physical failures) and active threats such as cyber-attacks launched on the network control systems. The impact of the aforementioned two threats on MPL operations is yet unknown, and there is no practical way to evaluate their severity. To assess the severity of the impact of physical failures and cyber-attacks on MPLs, a safety impact analysis framework based on Elman Neural Network (ENN) observers and the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) algorithm is suggested. The framework discusses three common attack and failure modes: sensor hard failure that occurs suddenly, sensor soft failure that occurs gradually over time, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks that prevent communication between the controller and valve. Both sensor failures and DoS attacks render the system unsafe, according to simulation data. In comparison to DoS attacks, however, sensor failures, particularly soft failures, inflict the greatest harm to the MPLs. Furthermore, sensors engaged in global control, rather than those involved in local control, need additional protection

Research of the effect of compactness of fireproof mud plugging and proportion of backing material on fireproof performance

Building fire sealing technology is of great importance in preventing the spread of fire in buildings and reducing the damage caused by fire accidents. In order to investigate the influence of compactness, thickness and proportion of backing material on the fireproof performance of fireproof plugging material, this paper carries out experimental analysis on the pyrolysis process of fireproof plugging material to obtain the relevant parameters, and adopts a small-size fireproof mud-blocking combustion experimental platform to carry out combustion experiments. The experimental results prove that: with the increase of compactness, the thermal insulation and fireproofing performance of fireproof plugging material are enhanced; when the backing material is glass wool, the thermal insulation and fireproofing performance decreases with the increase of the proportion of glass wool; the expansion of fireproof plugging material caused by fire causes the hysteresis phase of thermal response in part of the cross section, and the time period of the hysteresis phase is delayed with the increase of compaction of fireproofing mud, and delayed with the decrease of the proportion of the thickness of backing material. The hysteresis phase is delayed with increasing compactness of fireproof plugging material and decreasing thickness of the backing material. The results of this paper can provide theoretical assistance for the expansion of fireproof plugging material by fire and for the process of installation

CircPSMC3 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer by acting as a competitive endogenous RNA through sponging miR-296-5p

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with a loop structure, but its functions remain largely unknown. Growing evidence has revealed that circRNAs play a striking role as functional RNAs in the progression of malignant disease. However, the precise role of circRNAs in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Methods CircRNAs were determined by human circRNA array analysis and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase reaction. Luciferase reporter, RNA pull down, and fluorescence in situ hybridization assays were employed to test the interaction between circPSMC3 and miR-296-5p. Ectopic over-expression and siRNA-mediated knockdown of circPSMC3, proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, and in vivo experiment of metastasis were used to evaluate the function of circPSMC3. Results CircPSMC3 rather than liner PSMC3 mRNA was down-regulated in GC tissues, corresponding plasmas from GC patients as well as GC cell lines compared to normal controls. Lower circPSMC3 expression in GC patients was correlated with higher TNM stage and shorter overall survival. Over-expression of circPSMC3 and miR-296-5p inhibitor could inhibit the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells in vivo and vitro whereas co-transfection of circPSMC3 and miRNA-296-5p could counteract this effect. Importantly, we demonstrated that circPSMC3 could act as a sponge of miR-296-5p to regulate the expression of Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog (PTEN), and further suppress the tumorigenesis of gastric cancer cells. Conclusion Our study reveals that circPSMC3 can serve as a novel potential circulating biomarker for detection of GC. CircPSMC3 participates in progression of gastric cancer by sponging miRNA-296-5p with PTEN, providing a new insight into the treatment of gastric cancer

Retraction Note: CircPSMC3 suppresses the proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer by acting as a competitive endogenous RNA through sponging miR-296-5p

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-019-0958-6