Entrepreneurial orientation and new venture resource acquisition: why context matters

open access articleResource acquisition is vital for new venture survival and growth. However, surprisingly little is known about how the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the new venture affects its resource acquisition. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we articulate a theory and treatment of EO that address this oversight and remedy for the routine absence of context among studies of EO. Accounting for the simultaneous effect of environmental dynamism and an opportunistic orientation (OO), a tendency among Chinese new ventures to imitate technology and profit through market information asymmetry, as important contextual variables reflecting the Chinese business context, we provide insights on the contingency effects of contextual variables. Results from a quantitative study of 361 Chinese new ventures show that EO positively influences resource acquisition. However, this relationship is context sensitive. In a low dynamic environment, OO negatively moderates this relationship. However, in a highly dynamic environment, OO exhibits no effect on the relationship between EO and new venture resource acquisition. Our results contribute to a resource-based theory of EO and reveal its context sensitivity. Our study is a step in moving the scholarship of EO forward and away from the performance debate towards greater predictive accuracy of EO and its systems of effects

Star edge coloring of K2,t K_{2, t} -free planar graphs

The star chromatic index of a graph $G$, denoted by $\chi{'}_{st}(G)$, is the smallest number of colors required to properly color $E(G)$ such that every connected bicolored subgraph is a path with no more than three edges. A graph is $K_{2, t}$-free if it contains no $K_{2, t}$ as a subgraph. This paper proves that every $K_{2, t}$-free planar graph $G$ satisfies $\chi_{st}'(G)\le 1.5\Delta +20t+20$, which is sharp up to the constant term. In particular, our result provides a common generalization of previous results on star edge coloring of outerplanar graphs by Bezegová et al.(2016) and of $C_4$-free planar graphs by Wang et al.(2018), as those graphs are subclasses of $K_{2, 3}$-free planar graphs

Multiattention Adaptation Network for Motor Imagery Recognition

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants Nos. 61873181 and 61922062Peer reviewedPostprin

Enhancing Working Memory Based on Mismatch Negativity Neurofeedback in Subjective Cognitive Decline Patients: A Preliminary Study

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is suitable for studies of preattentive auditory discriminability and the auditory memory trace. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is an ideal target for early therapeutic intervention because SCD occurs at preclinical stages many years before the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD). According to a novel lifespan-based model of dementia risk, hearing loss is considered the greatest potentially modifiable risk factor of dementia among nine health and lifestyle factors, and hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline. Therefore, we propose a neurofeedback training based on MMN, which is an objective index of auditory discriminability, to regulate sensory ability and memory as a non-pharmacological intervention (NPI) in SCD patients. Seventeen subjects meeting the standardized clinical evaluations for SCD received neurofeedback training. The auditory frequency discrimination test, the visual digital N-back (1-, 2-, and 3-back), auditory digital N-back (1-, 2-, and 3-back), and auditory tone N-back (1-, 2-, and 3-back) tasks were used pre- and post-training in all SCD patients. The intervention schedule comprised five 60-min training sessions over 2 weeks. The results indicate that the subjects who received neurofeedback training had successfully improved the amplitude of MMN at the parietal electrode (Pz). A slight decrease in the threshold of auditory frequency discrimination was observed after neurofeedback training. Notably, after neurofeedback training, the working memory (WM) performance was significantly enhanced in the auditory tone 3-back test. Moreover, improvements in the accuracy of all WM tests relative to the baseline were observed, although the changes were not significant. To the best of our knowledge, our preliminary study is the first to investigate the effects of MMN neurofeedback training on WM in SCD patients, and our results suggest that MMN neurofeedback may represent an effective treatment for intervention in SCD patients and the elderly with aging memory decline

Therapeutic Effects of Glutamic Acid in Piglets Challenged with Deoxynivalenol

The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON), one of the most common food contaminants, primarily targets the gastrointestinal tract to affect animal and human health. This study was conducted to examine the protective function of glutamic acid on intestinal injury and oxidative stress caused by DON in piglets. Twenty-eight piglets were assigned randomly into 4 dietary treatments (7 pigs/treatment): 1) uncontaminated control diet (NC), 2) NC+DON at 4 mg/kg (DON), 3) NC+2% glutamic acid (GLU), and 4) NC+2% glutamic acid + DON at 4 mg/kg (DG). At day 15, 30 and 37, blood samples were collected to determine serum concentrations of CAT (catalase), T-AOC (total antioxidant capacity), H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), NO (nitric oxide), MDA (maleic dialdehyde), DAO (diamine oxidase) and D-lactate. Intestinal morphology, and the activation of Akt/mTOR/4EBP1 signal pathway, as well as the concentrations of H2O2, MDA, and DAO in kidney, liver and small intestine, were analyzed at day 37. Results showed that DON significantly (P<0.05) induced oxidative stress in piglets, while this stress was remarkably reduced with glutamic acid supplementation according to the change of oxidative parameters in blood and tissues. Meanwhile, DON caused obvious intestinal injury from microscopic observations and permeability indicators, which was alleviated by glutamic acid supplementation. Moreover, the inhibition of DON on Akt/mTOR/4EBP1 signal pathway was reduced by glutamic acid supplementation. Collectively, these data suggest that glutamic acid may be a useful nutritional regulator for DON-induced damage manifested as oxidative stress, intestinal injury and signaling inhibition

The Implementation of the Precautionary Principle in Nuclear Safety Regulation: Challenges and Prospects

The precautionary principle has been implemented in many fields including environment protection, biological diversity, and climate change. In the field of international nuclear safety regulation, the implementation of this principle is in an ongoing process. Since Japan declared to discharge Fukushima nuclear waste water into the ocean, the precautionary principle was put on the stage, and some debates are invoked on it. As is observed by this article, the precautionary principle has not been effectively implemented in nuclear safety regulation, specifically in nuclear safety law making, law enforcement, and judicial application. The reasons can be found from two main challenges: indeterminacy of perceived risk level required to justify precautionary action and hard balance of national interest and community interest in nuclear safety. In a long-term perspective, the framework of international nuclear safety regulation has to respond to these challenges, both by clarifying the precautionary principle in legal binding nuclear safety documents and moving towards a more transparent, fair, and effective enforcement regime in order to promote safer, more sustainable, and efficient civilian nuclear utilization around the world

The Implementation of the Precautionary Principle in Nuclear Safety Regulation: Challenges and Prospects

The precautionary principle has been implemented in many fields including environment protection, biological diversity, and climate change. In the field of international nuclear safety regulation, the implementation of this principle is in an ongoing process. Since Japan declared to discharge Fukushima nuclear waste water into the ocean, the precautionary principle was put on the stage, and some debates are invoked on it. As is observed by this article, the precautionary principle has not been effectively implemented in nuclear safety regulation, specifically in nuclear safety law making, law enforcement, and judicial application. The reasons can be found from two main challenges: indeterminacy of perceived risk level required to justify precautionary action and hard balance of national interest and community interest in nuclear safety. In a long-term perspective, the framework of international nuclear safety regulation has to respond to these challenges, both by clarifying the precautionary principle in legal binding nuclear safety documents and moving towards a more transparent, fair, and effective enforcement regime in order to promote safer, more sustainable, and efficient civilian nuclear utilization around the world