Experiments on the hold-up problem and delegation

The four essays collected in this PhD thesis explore the hold-up problem and delegation using the experimental method. The first essay provides a summary of the experimental literature examining the hold-up problem. The second essay investigates the relationship between strategic delegation and the nature of the strategic interaction through a laboratory experiment. The third essay demonstrates strategic delegation can help mitigates the hold-up problem by setting the appropriate incentive schemes in a laboratory experiment. The fourth essay studies the credit shifting effect of delegation with rewards in an online experiment

Receiving Credit:On Delegation and Responsibility

Evidence has shown that blame for a “bad" decision can be shifted by delegating the decision to someone else. We conduct experiments to examine whether the reverse is also true: Does one receive credit for taking a “good" decision as compared to delegating the decision to someone else? Our results indicate that the answer is affirmative. A person receives higher rewards when she makes a fair decision herself than when a delegate does. This indicates that responsibility attribution is a double-edged sword that applies to both bad and good outcomes

Do cross-border mergers and acquisitions create value? Evidence from Chinese firms

Following the extensive prior studies of the performance in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), this dissertation tested whether Chinese acquirers can generate value in Chinese outbound mergers and acquisitions and the main factors which might affect the value creation. A sample of 322 outward M&A transactions undertaken by 224 Chinese firms during the period from 2000 to 2017 was examined. The research is based on the event study method and regression analysis. The results show that on average, Chinese overseas M&A can generate a positive excess return for acquirers in short term. The findings of cross-sectional regression analysis present that cash payment exerts a significant positive effect on value creation, while cultural distance, state ownership and industry relatedness fail to make a significant impact on shareholders’ value

let-7b-5p suppresses the proliferation and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells via down-regulating IGF1

Objectives: Some previous studies indicated that the excessive proliferation and migration of Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells (PASMCs) could be observed in pulmonary artery intima after Pulmonary Embolism (PE) occurred. In addition, recent studies identified some miRNAs that are differentially expressed in the blood of PE patients, which might be used as a diagnostic biomarker for PE, including let-7a-5p, let-7b-5p, and miR-150-5p. Hence, the authors sought to explore the effects of let-7b-5p in PASMC proliferation and migration and the corresponding regulatory mechanism. Methods: Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) was utilized to induce the hyper-proliferation model in PASMCs. The mRNA and protein expression levels were detected by RT-qPCR and western blot, respectively. The proliferation of PASMCs was evaluated by the detection of PCNA expression, as well as CCK-8 and Edu assays. Wound healing and Transwell assays were exploited to assess the migration ability of PASMCs. The targets of let-7b-5p were predicted based on two bioinformatics online tools. Dual-luciferase and Ago2 pull-down assays were applied to confirm the interaction between let-7b-5p and IGF1. Results: 40 ng/mL PDGF was selected as the optimal concentration to induce PASMCs. let-7b-5p mimics suppressed the proliferation and migration of PDGF-induced PASMCs, while let-7b-5p inhibitor led to the opposite result. In further mechanism exploration, IGF1 was predicted and confirmed as the direct target gene of let-7b-5p. The promotion role of IGF1 overexpression on the proliferation and migration of PDGF-induced PASMCs was dramatically countered by let-7b-5p mimics. Conclusion: let-7b-5p prohibits the proliferation and migration of PDGF-induced PASMCs by modulating IGF1

A Further Study of Vectorial Dual-Bent Functions

Vectorial dual-bent functions have recently attracted some researchers' interest as they play a significant role in constructing partial difference sets, association schemes, bent partitions and linear codes. In this paper, we further study vectorial dual-bent functions $F: V_{n}^{(p)}\rightarrow V_{m}^{(p)}$, where $2\leq m \leq \frac{n}{2}$, $V_{n}^{(p)}$ denotes an $n$-dimensional vector space over the prime field $\mathbb{F}_{p}$. We give new characterizations of certain vectorial dual-bent functions (called vectorial dual-bent functions with Condition A) in terms of amorphic association schemes, linear codes and generalized Hadamard matrices, respectively. When $p=2$, we characterize vectorial dual-bent functions with Condition A in terms of bent partitions. Furthermore, we characterize certain bent partitions in terms of amorphic association schemes, linear codes and generalized Hadamard matrices, respectively. For general vectorial dual-bent functions $F: V_{n}^{(p)}\rightarrow V_{m}^{(p)}$ with $F(0)=0, F(x)=F(-x)$ and $2\leq m \leq \frac{n}{2}$, we give a necessary and sufficient condition on constructing association schemes. Based on such a result, more association schemes are constructed from vectorial dual-bent functions

A Further Study of Vectorial Dual-Bent Functions

Vectorial dual-bent functions have recently attracted some researchers\u27 interest as they play a significant role in constructing partial difference sets, association schemes, bent partitions and linear codes. In this paper, we further study vectorial dual-bent functions $F: V_{n}^{(p)}\rightarrow V_{m}^{(p)}$, where $2\leq m \leq \frac{n}{2}$, $V_{n}^{(p)}$ denotes an $n$-dimensional vector space over the prime field $\mathbb{F}_{p}$. We give new characterizations of certain vectorial dual-bent functions (called vectorial dual-bent functions with Condition A) in terms of amorphic association schemes, linear codes and generalized Hadamard matrices, respectively. When $p=2$, we characterize vectorial dual-bent functions with Condition A in terms of bent partitions. Furthermore, we characterize certain bent partitions in terms of amorphic association schemes, linear codes and generalized Hadamard matrices, respectively. For general vectorial dual-bent functions $F: V_{n}^{(p)}\rightarrow V_{m}^{(p)}$ with $F(0)=0, F(x)=F(-x)$ and $2\leq m \leq \frac{n}{2}$, we give a necessary and sufficient condition on constructing association schemes. Based on such a result, more association schemes are constructed from vectorial dual-bent functions

Rutin Protects against Pirarubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity through TGF- β

We investigated the potential protective effect of rutinum (RUT) against pirarubicin- (THP-) induced cardiotoxicity. THP was used to induce toxicity in rat H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. Positive control cells were pretreated with a cardioprotective agent dexrazoxane (DZR) prior to treatment with THP. Some of the cells were preincubated with RUT and a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor, SB203580, both individually and in combination, prior to THP exposure. At a dose range of 30–70 μM, RUT significantly prevented THP-induced reduction in cell viability; the best cardioprotective effect was observed at a dose of 50 μM. Administration of RUT and SB203580, both individually as well as in combination, suppressed the elevation of intracellular ROS, inhibited cell apoptosis, and reversed the THP-induced upregulation of TGF-β1, p-p38 MAPK, cleaved Caspase-9, Caspase-7, and Caspase-3. A synergistic effect was observed on coadministration of RUT and SB203580. RUT protected against THP-induced cardiotoxicity by inhibition of ROS generation and suppression of cell apoptosis. The cardioprotective effect of RUT appears to be associated with the modulation of the TGF-β1-p38 MAPK signaling pathway

Application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to adults with cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest in hospital

Objective·To assess the effect of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) treatment on the mortality rate of patients suffering from cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest in hospital.Methods·A total of 19 patients with cardiogenic shock or cardiac arrest who were treated with VA-ECMO treatment in Suzhou Kowloon Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from September 2017 to March 2022 were included in the retrospective study. Patients were divided into extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) group (n=9) and VA-ECMO for cardiogenic shock (E-CS) group (n=10) according to whether cardiac arrest had occurred. The general demographic data, clinical data, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores, postoperative complications and prognostic indicators of the two groups of patients were collected. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses were used to evaluate the correlation between each covariate and hospital mortality.Results·Among the included patients, there were 15 males (78.9%), with an average age of 46.5 (34.5, 61.6) years. The incidence of postoperative complications was as follows: bleeding (47.4%), AKI (36.8%), infection (31.6%), limb ischemia (15.8%) and cerebrovascular accident (5.3%). The duration of VA-ECMO was 4.0 (2.0, 6.8) days, and the intensive care duration was 11.5 (5.8, 26.2) days; the ECMO withdrawal success rate was 63.2%, and the hospital mortality was 63.2%. The results of univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that AKI (prior to VA-ECMO initiation), postoperative complications of infection and limb ischemia were correlated with the hospital mortality of patients (all P<0.05). The results of multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that AKI (prior to VA-ECMO initiation), postoperative complications of infection and limb ischemia were also independent risk factors for the hospital mortality of patients (all P<0.05).Conclusion·For patients with cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest treated with VA-ECMO, AKI (prior to VA-ECMO initiation), postoperative infection and limb ischemia are independently associated with higher hospital mortality