Great Chinese famine, corporate social responsibility and firm value

We conceptualize that CEOs who endure traumatic experiences stemming from man-made disasters practice less corporate social responsibility. We exploit a natural experiment—the Great Chinese Famine—to empirically test this hypothesis. We find that (i) firms with CEOs who experienced the Great Chinese Famine score lower in corporate social responsibility ratings than a comparison group; (ii) this relationship is mainly driven by prosocial practices tied to employee relations, environmental protection, supplier relations, and community contributions; and (iii) this negative relationship is more pronounced in firms whose CEOs were younger when they experienced the famine, (iv) the positive relationship between CSR scores and firm value is more pronounced in firms with CEO without famine experiences. These results are robust in the face of several sources of endogeneity. Our study contributes to ongoing research regarding how top executives' early experiences affect their managerial decisions. It also enriches work surrounding corporate social responsibility and the plausibly exogenous determinants of prosocial preferences

The battle in the garrison: public health and preventive medicine in the British army during the Age of Enlightenment.

For many, 18th century British Military Medicine conjures up images of surgeons with bloodies saws accompanied by screaming patients. This image however, is incorrect as military medicine in the British Arrny consisted of much more than the use of saws since they were mainly employed during and after a battle. British Military Medicine during the 18th century did not primarily focus on the use of leeches, purges, and surgeons saws. It focused on the preventive measures that could be taken in order to prevent diseases from arising among the soldiers. Although the mortality rates of soldiers continued to be high up until the 20th century, it was during the 18th century that there began an increasing practice of preventive medicine and an increasing awareness to the idea of public health. This was primarily due to the work of Sir John Pringle, a renowned British physic fan who accompanied the army during the War of the Austrian Succession, and the Forty-Five Rebellion in Scotland during the 1740s. From his observations of the army, Pringle wrote his bock Observations on the Diseases of the Army which had a tremendous impact in promoting the idea of public health and preventive medicine by describing the conditions that were unhealthy and deadly to the soldiers so that they could be avoided in order to ensure that the soldiers remained healthy. Such preventive methods had the potential to be effective in preserving the health and lives of the soldiers. What mattered in the end was how effective officers were in putting the methods to practice

The battle in the garrison: public health and preventive medicine in the British army during the Age of Enlightenment.

For many, 18th century British Military Medicine conjures up images of surgeons with bloodies saws accompanied by screaming patients. This image however, is incorrect as military medicine in the British Arrny consisted of much more than the use of saws since they were mainly employed during and after a battle. British Military Medicine during the 18th century did not primarily focus on the use of leeches, purges, and surgeons saws. It focused on the preventive measures that could be taken in order to prevent diseases from arising among the soldiers. Although the mortality rates of soldiers continued to be high up until the 20th century, it was during the 18th century that there began an increasing practice of preventive medicine and an increasing awareness to the idea of public health. This was primarily due to the work of Sir John Pringle, a renowned British physic fan who accompanied the army during the War of the Austrian Succession, and the Forty-Five Rebellion in Scotland during the 1740s. From his observations of the army, Pringle wrote his bock Observations on the Diseases of the Army which had a tremendous impact in promoting the idea of public health and preventive medicine by describing the conditions that were unhealthy and deadly to the soldiers so that they could be avoided in order to ensure that the soldiers remained healthy. Such preventive methods had the potential to be effective in preserving the health and lives of the soldiers. What mattered in the end was how effective officers were in putting the methods to practice

INTERNATIONAL RE-MIGRATION ANALYSIS: EVIDENCE FROM PUERTO RICANS

This study focuses on re-migration, where individuals return to their place of birth after living in a new location for several years. Puerto Rican male householders, born in Puerto Rico but residing on the U.S. mainland and re-migrating to Puerto Rico, is the sample for fitting a hazard rate model of re-migration. We find a strong quadratic effect of an individual's age on his hazard rate. Also, males having English proficiency, less schooling, and working disability are less likely to re-migrate. A higher predicted job growth rate for Puerto Rico (U.S. mainland) and unemployment rate for the mainland (Puerto Rico) have positive (negative) effects on the hazard rate. The hazard rate is negatively related to the Puerto Rican real minimum wage

Anti-inflammatuar and anti-oxidative effects of Nigella sativa L.: (18)FDG-PET imaging of inflammation

Inflammation has an important role in many diseases such as cystic fibrosis, allergies and cancer. The free radicals produced during inflammation, can induce gene mutations and posttranslational modifications of cancer related proteins. Nigella sativa L. (N. sativa) is herbaceous plant and commonly used as a natural food. It has many pharmacological effects including antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor, analgesic, antipyretic activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatuar and anti-oxidant activity of N. sativa in acute inflammation. Thus we used the experimental lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced model. Intraperitoneal LPS 1 mg/kg was administered to groups. N. sativa (500 mg/kg) and essential oil (5 ml/kg) were given orally to treatment groups, after 24-h of intraperitoneal LPS-injection. To determine the lung inflammation, F-18-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose (0.8 ml/kg) was administrated under the anesthesia before the 1 h of PET-scanning. After the FDG-PET, samples were collected. Lung and liver F-18-FDG-uptake was calculated. Serum AST, ALT, LDH and hcCRP levels were determined and liver, lung and erythrocyte SOD, MDA and CAT levels were measured. Liver and lung NO and DNA fragmentation levels were determined. MDA levels were decreased in treated inflammation groups whereas increased in untreated inflammation group. SOD and CAT activities in untreated inflammation group were significantly lower. According to the control group, increased AST and ALT levels were found in untreated inflammation group. F-18-FDG uptake of inflammation groups were increased when compare the control group. We found increased F-18-FDG uptake, DNA fragmentation and NO levels in LPS-induced inflammation groups. We conclude that, in LPS-induced inflammation, N. sativa have therapeutic and anti-oxidant effects

An Innovated 80V-100V High-Side Side-Isolated N-LDMOS Device

We used TCAD Synopsys 3D tools and device simulators to propose an innovative device structure of 80V-100V high-side NLDMOS by using the silicon to silicon-di-oxide ratio with side trench. The high-side can also be developed by placing an NBL structure which can deliver a high as over 200V isolation voltage. The 3D structure can clear see the optimized linear p-top and n-drift region have better charge balance with linear doping profile to get the benchmark breakdown voltage (BVdss) of 80V with on-resistance (Ron) as low as 130 mΩ-mm2 and 100V with on-resistance as low as 175 mΩ-mm2.The linear p-type buried layer using high dosage and lower energy to achieve the better SOA and higher isolation voltage. Optimized linear p-top and PBL can improve Ron by 32.5% compare to other 100V high side device which have done from reference

Propolis protects endotoxin induced acute lung and liver inflammation through attenuating inflammatory responses and oxidative stress

WOS: 000431372400001PubMed: 29719160Propolis is a natural bee product, and it has many effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihepatotoxic, and anticancer activity. In this study, we aimed to explore the potential in vivo anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic properties of propolis extract on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in rats. Forty-two, 3- to 4-month-old male Sprague Dawley rats were used in six groups. LPS (1mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to rats in inflammation, inflammation + propolis30, and inflammation+propolis90 groups. Thirty milligram/kilogram and 90mg/kg of propolis were given orally 24 h after LPS injection. After the determination of the inflammation in lung and liver tissues by F-18-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose-positron emission tomography ((18)FDG-PET), samples were collected. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), nitric oxide (NO), and DNA fragmentation were determined. The decrease of MDA levels in inflammation + propolis30 and inflammation + propolis90 groups was determined compared to the inflammation group in lung and liver tissues. The increase of SOD% inhibition in inflammation + propolis90 group was determined in liver, lung, and hemolysate compared to the inflammation group. Increased CAT activities in inflammation + propolis30 and inflammation + propolis90 groups were observed in liver tissue and hemolysate compared to inflammation group. In lung tissue, NO levels were lower in inflammation group compared to the control group, but DNA fragmentation levels were higher. F-18-FDG uptake of tissues in inflammation + propolis30 and inflammation + propolis90 groups was decreased compared to the inflammation group. In conclusion, the data of this study indicate that the propolis application may serve as a potential approach for treating inflammatory diseases through the effect of reducing inflammation and free oxygen radical production