The influence of national business systems and company characteristics on the cross-national transfer of employee participation practices : foreign acquisitions of UK and Swedish multinational corporations

The importance of multinational corporations (MNCs) on a global scale has continued to increase over the past decades. This is evidenced in rapidly rising levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) coupled with high amount of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. MNCs are likely to have a significant impact on their surroundings, including national governments, suppliers, customers, trade unions and employees. This research focuses on the impact on the latter by investigating post-acquisition transfers of employee participation practices in MNCs. This thesis examines Swedish and UK MNCs and their foreign acquired subsidiaries. Following a review of comparative industrial relations, institutionalism, international business, national business systems (NBS), and M&A literature, the influence of NBS and nine specific company characteristics on MNCs' ability and willingness to transfer employment practices are discussed. The contribution to knowledge is fivefold. Firstly, it extends the understanding of employment practices transfers following cross-border acquisitions. Secondly, it contributes to the global-local debate of how MNCs try to implement global standard employment practices on the one hand and on the other to adapt and conform to local conditions. Thirdly, it provides an insight into MNCs from small and large economies engaging in transfers. Fourthly, it compares acquisition integration approaches from Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian MNCs. Fifthly, it informs about the forces at national and company levels influencing MNCs in their choice of employment practices abroad. Empirically, the research is based on detailed case studies. Case data has been collected from five MNCs - two UK and three Swedish - and their foreign acquired subsidiaries. Interviews have been carried out at corporate and subsidiary levels in the UK and Sweden in the native languages. The research draws some significant conclusions. Firstly, the influence of the NBS on the transfer of employment practices varies according to the type of practice in question. Secondly, it adds another dimension to Bartlett and Ghoshal's (1998) MNC typologies, the brand structured MNC. In this type of MNC, practices are transferred according to brands rather than national patterns. Thirdly, the pattern of transfer supports the argument of a flow of transfers from 'dominant' systems to 'follower' systems both in terms of forward and reverse transfers. Finally, the results reveal that transfers are not only influenced by the NBS but also company characteristics are significant. This is most clearly demonstrated by the post-acquisition integration approach and the 'significance' of the subsidiary.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceCollinson Grant (Firm)Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)GBUnited Kingdo

Prevalence and significance of incidental findings on 68 Ga-DOTA-conjugated somatostatin receptor-targeting peptide PET/CT:a systematic review of the literature

AIM: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of incidental (68) Ga-DOTA-conjugated somatostatin receptor-targeting peptide PET/CT (SSTR PET/CT) findings, their clinical significance in the need for follow-up, and their risk of malignancy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Studies reporting incidental SSTR PET/CT findings were systematically searched in PubMed, Cochrane, Embase and Web of Science literature published prior to 1(st) of May 2020. Studies were filtered by two independent readers for eligibility based on title and abstract, and subsequently on full text. The main exclusion criteria were: 1) pathological findings that matched scan indication, 2) known organ specific disease and/or incidental findings confirmed on other scan modality prior to SSTR PET/CT, 3) lack of diagnosis and/or follow up, and 4) results published in proceedings or conference abstracts. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies, comprising a total of 2906 subjects, were eligible for the analysis. Studies included were retrospective cohort studies on incidental SSTR PET/CT findings in a specific organ (n = 2888, 7/21) or case reports (n = 18, 14/21). A total of 133 subjects had incidental SSTR PET/CT findings. Incidental findings were predominantly seen in the thyroid gland (n = 65), spine (n = 30), brain (n = 26) and breast (n = 6). Seventeen of 133 (13%) incidental findings were malignant on final diagnosis. Incidental breast findings were associated with the highest risk of malignancy (67%). In the thyroid, incidental SSTR uptake was caused by malignancy in 8%, all presenting as focal uptake. The lowest risk was seen in the spine with a malignancy rate of 3% in patients with incidental SSTR uptake and benign cases were interpreted as vertebral hemangiomas on CT. Incidental SSTR PET/CT findings in other locations were of malignant etiology in two out of six cases (33%) and should be evaluated individually. CONCLUSION: The most incidental SSTR PET/CT findings were found in the thyroid gland, spine, and brain. The risk of malignancy was greatest in incidental SSTR PET/CT findings in the breast, cranially, and thyroid gland. The results of the present study can prove useful in the interpretation of atypical findings on SSTR PET/CT and in the counseling of clinicians. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40644-022-00484-0

Human Cardiovascular Adaptation to Short-Term Weightlessness

No abstract availabl

Improving access to endogenous DNA in ancient bones and teeth

Poor DNA preservation is the most limiting factor in ancient genomic research. In the majority of ancient bones and teeth, endogenous DNA molecules represent a minor fraction of the whole DNA extract, rendering shot-gun sequencing inefficient for obtaining genomic data. Based on ancient human bone samples from temperate and tropical environments, we show that an EDTA-based enzymatic ‘pre-digestion’ of powdered bone increases the proportion of endogenous DNA several fold. By performing the pre-digestion step between 30 min and 6 hours on five bones, we observe an asymptotic increase in endogenous DNA content, with a 2.7-fold average increase reached at 1 hour. We repeat the experiment using a brief pre-digestion (15 or 30 mins) on 21 ancient bones and teeth from a variety of archaeological contexts and observe an improvement in 16 of these. We here advocate the implementation of a brief pre-digestion step as a standard procedure in ancient DNA extractions. Finally, we demonstrate on 14 ancient teeth that by targeting the outer layer of the roots we obtain up to 14 times more endogenous DNA than when using the inner dentine. Our presented methods are likely to increase the proportion of ancient samples that are suitable for genome-scale characterization.Full Tex

Fluid Shifts, Vasodilatation and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Reduction During Long Duration Spaceflight

To investigate how fluid shifts, blood pressure and systemic vascular resistance adapt to long duration (3-6 months) spaceflight