The Current State of Research on Networks in China’s Business System

The purpose of the paper is to assess the current state of network research in China’s business system. Research on networks has developed significantly during the last decades in regards to analytic techniques, number of research projects, and accumulated findings. While research on networks in China has always received much attention – not least because networks are (still) considered one of the major forces behind the country’s socio-economic change – this development has also had an effect on how research on generic networks in China is being conducted. How Chinese networks are modelled, which aspects remain controversial in the academic debate, and which conclusions the different studies offer asks for a systematic comparison. The paper, based on an extensive literature research, therefore relies on a framework of theoretical concepts underlying the study of networks which allows a categorization of the dominant (generic) forms of Chinese networks as discussed in major journals. The study on the one hand is descriptive by filtering the diverse literature of network research on China’s business system. On the other hand, it serves to identify gaps and shortcomings of the current literature in this field pointing to future research directions. We identify four generic types of networks, Chinese business groups (qiyejituan), Overseas Chinese Communities, networks of social relations (guanxi), and Network Capitalism, as an alternative economic model. As the study shows, the research approaches to these networks are extremely diverse both in description and analysis. A focus on the identified gaps within each type of network and a convergence between the types of networks should yield to further insights into the study of networks as well as their implications for economic systems

Configurations of Inter-firm Relations in Management Innovation: A Study in China’s Biopharmaceutical Industry

This dissertation proposes a configurational approach to the study of inter-firm relations facilitating management innovation. Previous research conceptualizes management innovation as either the outcome of determinants of individual firms or a complex process of conjunctural factors between firms. In contrast, this thesis attempts to reconcile the two camps by examining the conditions under which the management innovation process within inter-firm relations takes place. The empirical analysis employs data from 56 firm partnerships in China’s biopharmaceutical industry collected during field research in 2008. The population of firms in China’s biopharmaceutical industry is young, highly diverse and strongly relies on ties to other organizations. Operating under volatile conditions requires constant development of new managerial instruments. Methodologically, this dissertation employs a technique new in the study of management innovation. Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis has been chosen for its ability to properly translate complex theories into models and its suitability for configurational analyses. The results identify four configurations of inter-firm relations differing in their combinations of relational, structural and environmental conditions. Each is equally effective in facilitating management innovation yet employs internal and external knowledge differently to develop and implement new management instruments. The results provide a simple and well arranged decision-making tool for drafting intelligible managerial strategies and indicate that firms in China’s biopharmaceutical industry swiftly develop and introduce management instruments which soon may serve as templates for the global biopharmaceutical industry as a whole

Evidence for temporary and local transition of sp2 graphite-type to sp3 diamond-type bonding induced by the tip of an atomic force microscope

Artificial diamond is created by exposing graphite to pressures on the order of 10\,GPa and temperatures of about 2000\,K. Here, we provide evidence that the pressure exerted by the tip of an atomic force microscope onto graphene over the carbon buffer layer of silicon carbide can lead to a temporary transition of graphite to diamond on the atomic scale. We perform atomic force microscopy with CO terminated tips and copper oxide (CuOx) tips to image graphene and to induce the structural transition. For a local transition, DFT predicts that a repulsive barrier of $\approx13$\,nN, followed by a force reduction by $\approx4$\,nN is overcome when inducing the graphite-diamond transition. Experimental evidence for this transition is provided by the observation of third harmonics in the cantilever oscillation for relative flexible CO terminated tips and a kink in the force versus distance curve for rigid CuOx tips. The experimental observation of the third harmonic with a magnitude of about 200\,fm fits to a force with an amplitude of $\pm 3$\,nN. The large repulsive overall force of $\approx 10$\,nN is only compatible with the experiment if one assumes that the repulsive force acting on the tip when inducing the transition is compensated by an increased van-der-Waals attraction of the tip due to form fitting of tip and sample by local indentation. The transition changes flat sp$^2$ bonds to corrugated sp$^3$ bonds, resulting in a different height of the two basis atoms in the elementary cell of graphene. Both tip types show a strong asysmmetry between the two basis atoms of the lattice when using large repulsive tip forces that induce the transition. Experimental data of tunneling current, frequency shift and dissipation are consistent with the proposed transition. The experiment also shows that atomic force microscopy allows to perform high pressure physics on the atomic scale

Effect of egg turning and incubation time on carbonic anhydrase gene expression in the blastoderm of the Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica)

(1) The gene expression of carbonic anhydrase, a key enzyme for the production sub-embryonic fluid (SEF), was assessed in turned and unturned eggs of the Japanese quail. The plasma membrane-associated isoforms CA IV, CAIX, CA XII, CA XIV, and the cytoplasmic isoform CA II, were investigated in the extra-embryonic tissue of the blastoderm and in embryonic blood. (2) Eggs were incubated at 37.6C, c. 60% R.H., and turned hourly (90 ) or left unturned. From 48 to 96 hours of incubation mRNA was extracted from blastoderm tissue, reverse-transcribed to cDNA and quantified by real-time qPCR using gene-specific primers. Blood collected at 96h was processed identically. (3) Blastoderm CAIV gene expression increased with the period of incubation only in turned eggs, with maxima at 84 and 96h of incubation. Only very low levels were found in blood. (4) Blastoderm CA II gene expression was greatest at 48 and 54h of incubation, subsequently declining to much lower levels and una ected by turning. Blood CA II gene expression was about 25-fold greater than that in the blastoderm. (5) The expression of CA IX in the blastoderm was the highest of all isoforms, yet unaffected by turning. CA XII did not amplify and CA XIV was present at unquantifiable low levels. (6) It is concluded that solely gene expression for CA IV is sensitive to egg turning, and that increased CA IV gene expression could account for the additional SEF mass found at 84-96h of incubation. in embryos of turned eggs

Role of carrier reservoirs on the slow phase recovery of quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers

This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and AIP Publishing. This article appeared in Appl. Phys. Lett. 94, 041112 (2009) and may be found at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3073715.The gain and phase recovery dynamics of quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor optical amplifiers are calculated, including all the optical transitions involved in successive carrier recovery processes. The carrier recovery dynamics of inhomogeneously broadened QDs is simulated by solving 1088 coupled rate equations. The respective contributions of QD states and quantum-well carrier reservoirs to the gain and phase changes are identified both temporally and spectrally. We show that the slow phase recovery component of the QD ground state is induced by the slow carrier dynamics of the carrier reservoir due to a slowly varying line shape function of the refractive index change.EC/FP6/027638/EU/Transparent Ring Interconnection Using Multiwavelngth PHotonic switches/TRIUMPHDFG, 43659573, SFB 787: Halbleiter - Nanophotonik: Materialien, Modelle, Bauelement

Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in old persons: Age, Gene/environment Susceptibility Reykjavik Study.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field.PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence and signs of early and late age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in an old cohort. DESIGN: Population-based cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: We included 5272 persons aged ≥66 years, randomly sampled from the Reykjavik area. METHODS: Fundus images were taken through dilated pupils using a 45-degree digital camera and graded for drusen size, type, area, increased retinal pigment, retinal pigment epithelial depigmentation, neovascular lesions, and geographic atrophy (GA) using the modified Wisconsin Age-Related Maculopathy Grading System. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age-related macular degeneration in an elderly cohort. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 76 years. The prevalence of early AMD was 12.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.0-13.9) for those aged 66 to 74 years and 36% (95% CI, 30.9-41.1) for those aged ≥85 years. The prevalence of exudative AMD was 3.3% (95% CI, 2.8-3.8). The prevalence of pure GA was 2.4% (95% CI, 2.0-2.8). The highest prevalence of late AMD was among those aged ≥85 years: 11.4% (95% CI, 8.2-14.5) for exudative AMD and 7.6% (95% CI, 4.8-10.4) for pure GA. CONCLUSIONS: Persons aged ≥85 years have a 10-fold higher prevalence of late AMD than those aged 70 to 74 years. The high prevalence of late AMD in the oldest age group and expected increase of elderly people in the western world in coming years call for improved preventive measures and novel treatments.National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Ageing and the National Eye Institute Z01-EY00401 N01-AG-1-2100 IHA Icelandic Parliament University of Icelan

Decreased antigen-specific T-cell proliferation by moDC among hepatitis B vaccine non-responders on haemodialysis

Patients with end-stage kidney disease, whether or not on renal replacement therapy, have an impaired immune system. This is clinically manifested by a large percentage of patients unresponsive to the standard vaccination procedure for hepatitis B virus (HBV). In this study, the immune response to HBV vaccination is related to the in vitro function of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDC). We demonstrate that mature moDC from nonresponders to HBV vaccination have a less mature phenotype, compared to responders and healthy volunteers, although this did not affect their allostimulatory capacity. However, proliferation of autologous T cells in the presence of tetanus toxoid and candida antigen was decreased in non-responders. Also, HLA-matched CD4+ hsp65-specific human T-cell clones showed markedly decreased proliferation in the group of non-responders. Our results indicate that impairment of moDC to stimulate antigen-specific T cells provides an explanation for the clinical immunodeficiency of patients with end-stage kidney disease