Heterogeneity in top management teams and outward foreign direct investment: evidence from Chinese listed companies

Drawing upon the knowledge-based view and team learning, we investigated how heterogeneity in top management teams (TMTs) in China influences global expansion strategies. Using panel data from Chinese listed firms from 2008 to 2014, we found that TMT functional background heterogeneity could positively affect firms’ commitment to outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), as the diversification of TMT members can enrich the team’s knowledge, facilitate efficient team learning, and enhance the decision-making capacity on overseas expansion. However, tenure heterogeneity may hinder knowledge acquisition and team learning among TMT members, hence undermining firms’ OFDI commitment

Alan Fox and the managerial “unitary” frame of reference in unionised companies: context, roots, elaboration and international applicability

PurposeThis study investigates the origins and elaboration of the managerial “unitary” frame of reference associated with Alan Fox, focusing on unionised firms: the industrial relations context, intellectual roots, elaboration, adaptation by other writers, and international applicability.Design/methodology/approachTracing the above requirements through contemporaneous sources.FindingsFox’s designation of the unitary frame needs to be understood in its 1960s’ context, particularly the promotion of “productivity bargaining”, and its furthering through management training and education. Fox’s specific contribution is identified. Subsequent UK writers have underplayed the importance of the legal dimension of managerial authority, especially relevant in the US context, while other extra-economic factors bolster the managerial unitary frame in authoritarian societies such as China.Originality/valueThe use of Fox's neglected 1960s’ writings; tracking how Fox developed the unitary frame concept and how it was funnelled into the narrow parameters of non-unionism by subsequent writers; identifying its applicability beyond the UK (with the USA as a historical example and China as a contemporary one)

The relationship between work-family conflict and work-related outcomes: evidence from China’s new-generation employees

Existing studies have tried to depict the intriguing features of the work-family conflicts among Chinese employees, but very little has been done to explore the extent of such conflicts for China’s new-generation employees who were born after 1980, and how this is linked with their level of work engagement and turnover. Drawing on a sample of 266 young employees in China, this study examines the relationships between the degree of work-family conflict (WFC) for China’s new-generation employees and their work engagement and turnover intention. Based on the stressor-strain-outcomes framework, the paper makes effort to address this important research gap. The regression analysis results revalidate the dynamic ‘WFC-work engagement-turnover intention’ construct and shows that work engagement can be an effective mediator. Our finding challenges the conventional gendered discourse of WFC for Chinese employees, but it can by no means signify the arrival of a gender equality era

Conceptualising decent work: an explorative study of decent work in England’s Midlands region

Despite an increased focus on the quality as well as quantity of work, conceptualisation of decent work remains underdeveloped. There is no single agreed definition of decent work. The ILO (1999) provides an overarching definition of decent work as ‘productive work for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity’. This article contributes to conceptual advancement of decent work by compiling a new holistic framework comprising dimensions of decent work, distributive and contributive justice, hard and soft policy regulation, and levels of decent work. Its main aim is to evaluate the suitability of this new conceptual framework for exploring the prognosis on decent work – mainly as a means for informing policy interventions. This is done by applying the framework empirically through analysing evidence collected in the context of the UK’s Midlands region using qualitative research methods, including interviews capturing perspectives from various stakeholders. Limited sub-national devolved policy levers are identified, exacerbated by limited hard regulations nationally supporting decent work/workers’ rights

Leave or not to leave? the impact of managerial work-life support and work engagement on the outcomes of work-to-life conflict for China’s new generation employees

This paper explores how work engagement and managerial work-life support can influence the relationship between work-to-life conflict and turnover intention for China’s new generation employees. Drawing on job demand-resources (JD-R) theory and time-lagged survey data, we developed a moderated mediation model which reveals the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between work-to-life conflict and turnover intention, and the moderation effect of managerial work-life support on the relationship between work-to-life conflict and work engagement. The findings show that work engagement serves as a personal resource for new generation employees to buffer the negative impact of work-life conflict on turnover intention, and managerial work-life support serves as a key job resource to influence the mediating effect of work engagement when work-life conflict occurs. Research contributions, implications, and limitations are discussed

Japanese Encephalitis Accompanied by Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis: a Case Report

Background: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a relatively rare cerebrovascular condition which accounts for 0.5% of all strokes. Risk of CVST has been documented in patients with numerous conditions including central nervous system infections, however, Japanese encephalitis (JE, epidemic encephalitis type B) with CVST has not been reported previously. Case Presentation: Here, we present a case of JE with CVST in a 17-year-old man. On admission, the patient was initially diagnosed as intracranial infection, and soon after, brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) and MR Venography (MRV) confirmed the diagnosis of CVST. Moreover, the blood JE-specific IgM antibody which proved weakly positive at first, turned positive one week later. Consequently, our patient was diagnosed as CVST accompanied by JE. Anticoagulant and anti-infective therapy were initiated, which eventually lead to gradual recovery of the patient. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first case report of CVST associated with JE. MRI and MRV represent a prime method for the diagnosis of CVST, while the positivity of JE virus IgM antibody, especially increased antibody levels within a short period, is of great significance to diagnose JE. The early diagnosis and timely treatment of this potentially lethal condition would improve its prognosis significantly

Common mechanisms underlying axonal transport deficits in neurodegenerative diseases: a mini review

Many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are characterized by the accumulation of pathogenic proteins and abnormal localization of organelles. These pathological features may be related to axonal transport deficits in neurons, which lead to failures in pathological protein targeting to specific sites for degradation and organelle transportation to designated areas needed for normal physiological functioning. Axonal transport deficits are most likely early pathological events in such diseases and gradually lead to the loss of axonal integrity and other degenerative changes. In this review, we investigated reports of mechanisms underlying the development of axonal transport deficits in a variety of common neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease to provide new ideas for therapeutic targets that may be used early in the disease process. The mechanisms can be summarized as follows: (1) motor protein changes including expression levels and post-translational modification alteration; (2) changes in microtubules including reducing stability and disrupting tracks; (3) changes in cargoes including diminished binding to motor proteins. Future studies should determine which axonal transport defects are disease-specific and whether they are suitable therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative diseases

Thermally-induced flexible and thermally conductive enhanced phase change material with 1-hexadecanol as phase change component

High latent heat and thermostatic properties of phase change materials (PCMs) have made them the promising materials. Herein, a novel thermally-induced flexible 1-Hexadecanol/Olefin block copolymer/Hexagonal boron nitride (HD/OBC/h-BN) composite phase change material (CPCM) is proposed. Bio-based non-polluting material of HD is employed innovatively as the phase change component. The triggering of HD phase transition can achieve various deformation modes for CPCM, which is beneficial to reduce the thermal contact resistance between CPCM and device. The electrically insulating property of h-BN not only improves the thermal conductivity and the heating/cooling rate of CPCM, but also further solves the problem of the HD leakage (as low as 0.31 wt%). The prepared CPCM with excellent flexibility and high latent heat (above 150 J/g) has good thermal stability and thermal reliability in the working temperature range. This provides developed CPCM greater potential for thermal energy storage (TES) and thermal management (TM) than conventional PCMs

Assessment of left ventricular function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus by non-invasive myocardial work

BackgroundDiabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that poses a serious risk of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, early detection of impaired cardiac function with non-invasive myocardial imaging is critical for improving the prognosis of patients with DM.PurposeThis study aimed to assess the left ventricular (LV) function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by non-invasive myocardial work technique.Materials and methodsIn all, 67 patients with T2DM and 28 healthy controls were included and divided into a DM group and a control group. Two-dimensional dynamic images of apical three-chamber view, apical two-chamber view, and apical four-chamber view were collected from all subjects, consisting of at least three cardiac cycles. LV myocardial strain parameters, including global longitudinal strain (GLS) and peak strain dispersion (PSD), as well as myocardial work parameters, including global constructive work (GCW), global wasted work (GWW), global work index (GWI), and global work efficiency (GWE), were obtained and analyzed.ResultsA total of 15 subjects were randomly selected to assess intra-observer and inter-observer consistency of myocardial work parameters and strain parameters, which showed excellent results (intra-class correlation coefficients: 0.856 - 0.983, P<0.001). Compared with the control group, the DM group showed significantly higher PSD (37.59 ± 17.18 ms vs. 27.72 ± 13.52 ms, P<0.05) and GWW (63.98 ± 43.63 mmHg% vs. 39.28 ± 25.67 mmHg%, P<0.05), and lower GWE (96.38 ± 2.02% vs. 97.72 ± 0.98%, P<0.001). Furthermore, the PSD was positively correlated with GWW (r = 0.565, P<0.001) and negatively correlated with GWE (r = -0.569, P<0.001).ConclusionUncoordinated LV myocardial strain, higher GWW, and lower GWE in patients with T2DM may serve as indicators for the early assessment of cardiac impairment in T2DM

Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Rotenone-Induced Hemiparkinsonian Rats

Several studies have shown functional improvements, neuroprotective, and neuroregenerative effects after mesenchymal stem cells transplantation to parkinsonian animal models. However, questions remain about the safety, feasibility, and long-term efficacy of this approach. In this study, we investigated migration, therapeutic, tumorigenesis, and epileptogenic effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (HUMSCs) 1 year after transplantation into rotenone-induced hemiparkinsonian rats. Our data indicated that DiI-labeled HUMSCs migrated in the lesioned hemisphere, from corpus striatum (CPu) to substantia nigra. By integrating with host cells and differentiating into NSE, GFAP, Nestin, and tyrosine hydroxylase-positive cells, HUMSCs prevented 48.4% dopamine neurons from degeneration and 56.9% dopamine terminals from loss, both correlating with improvement of apomorphine-induced rotations. The CD50 and CD97 value of pentylenetetrazol and semiquantitative immunohistochemical analysis of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), β-catenin, C-myc, and NF-κB expression showed no significant difference between HUMSCs transplanted and untransplanted groups, whereas the expressions of Bcl-2 and P53 in the grafted CPu were upregulated by 281% and 200% compared to ungrafted CPu. The results of this long-term study suggest that HUMSCs transplantation, 1 of the most potential treatments for Parkinson's disease, is an effective and safe approach