Initial Public Offering and Corporate Governance in China's Transitional Economy

This paper empirically investigates the performance of Chinese initial public offerings (IPOs). The data used covers the period from mid-1995 to mid-1999 with the sample including 884 companies (both in the A- and B-share markets). In an examination of growth, profitability and stability of listed companies either individually or as a combination, it can be seen that the only industries in which listed companies in China display strong performance are public utilities, transportation and finance. If one examines the changes in listed companies' financial indicators following the IPO, it becomes apparent that with the exception of earnings related indicators (EPS and ROE) there are no significant changes. What's more, the financial indicators tend to fall rapidly year on year. This means that the IPO is of little obvious help to companies' operational performance, and may actually make things worse. One of the reasons for this is that in order to implement the IPO and secure stock market listing, companies tend to submit inflated figures in the financial statements that they are required to provide. Another possible factor is the poor corporate governance characteristics of Chinese enterprises.

BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EVADING WITH PUSHING TECHNIQUE IN TAI CHI PUSH HANDS

The traditional Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi (TC), include different forms and advanced interactive movements called Push Hands. Very few studies on the biomechanics analysis of TC push hands have been published. To investigate the characteristics of Tai Chi Push Hands, an experienced master was asked to perform the ‘evading with pushing technique’ when he was pushed by another person for three trials. The master’s movements were videotaped and digitized using a motion analysis system combining electromyography and force plate data. The results indicated that the master lowered his COG, shifted his body weight to rear foot, twisted his waist to evade the push, and pushed back with the strength from the lower limbs. It is concluded that the evading with pushing technique is a efficient and effective way to strike back

Transport of Contaminated Agents in Hospital Wards – Exposure Control with a Personalized Healthcare Ventilation System: Numerical Study

Contaminated agents in hospital wards are the source of nosocomial infections known as hospital-acquired infection (HAI) or healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Ventilation plays an essential role in the spreading and minimizing the transport of airborne infectious diseases such as Covid-19 and SARS in the hospital ward. The goal of this study is to explore elimination strategies for an efficient removal of contaminated agents, targeting the influence of using local air diffuser and exhaust. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique was used to model the airflow field and contamination distribution in the ward environment. Simulated results showed that the bacteria spread from a patient confined to his bed was limited and under certain conditions significantly eliminated. Consequently, a relatively high efficiency of particle removal and a moderated transmission were obtained. Thus, this strategy is able to shorten the exposure time of patient and healthcare staff, as a result, mitigating cross-infection risk at the hospital.publishedVersio

Photoproducts of indomethacin exhibit decreased hydroxyl radical scavenging and xanthine oxidase inhibition activities

AbstractIndomethacin (IN) is a widely used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. In this study, four photoproducts of IN (IN1–IN4) were produced and isolated from photoirradiated IN. This study investigated the abilities of IN and its photoproducts to scavenge hydroxyl radicals and inhibit xanthine oxidase (XO). The hydroxyl radical-scavenging activity was measured in vitro by electron spin resonance spectrometry using 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide as a spin trapping agent. Enzyme activity was measured by continuous monitoring of uric acid formation, using xanthine as a substrate. The results showed that, among all the related products, IN has the strongest hydroxyl radical-scavenging (IC50 = 65 μM) and XO inhibitory (IC50 = 86 μM) effects. To further understand the stereochemistry of the reactions between these IN derivatives and XO, we performed computer-aided molecular modeling. IN was the most potent inhibitor with the most favorable interaction in the reactive site. Various photoproducts exhibited affinity toward XO as a result of the absence of hydrogen bonding with molybdopterin domain

A Comparison of Food-grade Folium mori Extract and 1-Deoxynojirimycin for Glycemic Control and Renal Function in Streptozotocin-induced Diabetic Rats

ABSTRACTFolium mori (桑葉 Sāng Yè, leaf of Morus alba L.; FM) is known to possess hypoglycemic effects, and 1-deoxynojirimycin (1-DNJ) has been proposed as an important functional compound in FM. However, the hypoglycemic activity of purified 1-DNJ has been rarely studied. It is also not known how FM and 1-DNJ affect the development of DM nephropathy. This study compared the antidiabetic effect of a commercial FM product with that of purified 1-DNJ in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Seven days after induction, the diabetic rats were gavaged with FM (1, 3, 10, and 30mg/kg/day), 1-DNJ (30mg/kg/day), or vehicle (distilled deionized water; 2ml/kg/day) for 7days. All doses of FM ameliorated fasting and post-prandial blood glucose concomitantly with an increase in peripheral and pancreatic levels of insulin and improved homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) in diabetic rats in a dose-dependent manner. Increased thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and nitrate/nitrite levels in the kidney, liver, and muscle of diabetic rats were reversed by all doses of FM. The renal function of the diabetic rats was normalized by all doses of FM, while blood pressure changes were reversed by FM at doses of 3mg/kg and above. Moreover, most of the above-mentioned parameters were improved by FM at doses of 3mg/kg and above to a similar extent as that of 1-DNJ. The results showed superior antidiabetic potential of the commercial FM product for glycemic control and protection against the development of diabetic nephropathy