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BackgroundCirculating vitamin D has been associated with multiple clinical diseases in observational studies, but the association was inconsistent due to the presence of confounders. We conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) study to explore the healthy atlas of vitamin D in many clinical traits and evaluate their causal association.MethodsBased on a large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS), the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) instruments of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) from 443,734 Europeans and the corresponding effects of 10 clinical diseases and 42 clinical traits in the European population were recruited to conduct a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Under the network of Mendelian randomization analysis, inverse-variance weighting (IVW), weighted median, weighted mode, and Mendelian randomization (MR)–Egger regression were performed to explore the causal effects and pleiotropy. Mendelian randomization pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) was conducted to uncover and exclude pleiotropic SNPs.ResultsThe results revealed that genetically decreased vitamin D was inversely related to the estimated BMD (β = −0.029 g/cm2, p = 0.027), TC (β = −0.269 mmol/L, p = 0.006), TG (β = −0.208 mmol/L, p = 0.002), and pulse pressure (β = −0.241 mmHg, p = 0.043), while positively associated with lymphocyte count (β = 0.037%, p = 0.015). The results did not reveal any causal association of vitamin D with clinical diseases. On the contrary, genetically protected CKD was significantly associated with increased vitamin D (β = 0.056, p = 2.361 × 10−26).ConclusionThe putative causal effects of circulating vitamin D on estimated bone mass, plasma triglyceride, and total cholesterol were uncovered, but not on clinical diseases. Vitamin D may be linked to clinical disease by affecting health-related metabolic markers.

ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical effect of domestic programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitor combined with lenvatinib in the treatment of advanced primary liver cancer and related adverse events. MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 24 patients with advanced primary liver cancer who were treated with domestic PD-1 inhibitor combined with lenvatinib in Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University, from January 1, 2019 to April 2, 2020, with 15 patients in the Camrelizumab+lenvatinib group, 7 patients in the Sintilimab+lenvatinib group, and 2 patients in the Toripalimab+lenvatinib group. During follow-up, Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors was used to evaluate the treatment outcome of intrahepatic lesions, and RECIST1.1 was used to evaluate extrahepatic metastatic lesions. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate survival time. ResultsAmong the 24 treatment-experienced patients, 11 achieved partial response, 7 achieved a stable disease, and 6 had disease progression, resulting in an objective response rate of 45.8% and a disease control rate of 75.0%. The median time to disease progression was 8.4 (95% confidence interval: 6.89-9.91) months. The incidence rate of adverse events was 54.17%, and the most common adverse events were fatigue (29.17%) and hypertension (25.00%). ConclusionPD-1 inhibitor combined with lenvatinib has a marked clinical effect in the treatment of advanced primary liver cancer, with a low incidence rate of serious adverse events, and thus it is a safe and effective treatment regimen.

Supplemental material, sj-doc-1-scm-10.1177_00369330221107099 for Polycystic ovary syndrome and the risk of endometrial, ovarian and breast cancer: An updated meta-analysis by Zhen Li, Yu-Hua Wang, Lin-Lin Wang, Ding-Tao Hu, Ying Teng, Ting-Yu Zhang, Zi-Ye Yan, Fang Wang and Yan-Feng Zou in Scottish Medical Journal

Soil microbiota plays fundamental roles in maintaining ecosystem functions and services, including biogeochemical processes and plant productivity. Despite the ubiquity of soil microorganisms from the topsoil to deeper layers, their vertical distribution and contribution to element cycling in subsoils remain poorly understood. Here, nine soil profiles (0 to 135 cm) were collected at the local scale (within 300 km) from two canonical paddy soil types (Fe-accumuli and Hapli stagnic anthrosols), representing redoximorphic and oxidative soil types, respectively. Variations with depth in edaphic characteristics and soil bacterial and diazotrophic community assemblies and their associations with element cycling were explored. The results revealed that nitrogen and iron status were the most distinguishing edaphic characteristics of the two soil types throughout the soil profile. The acidic Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosols were characterized by lower concentrations of free iron oxides and total iron in topsoil and ammonia in deeper layers compared with the Hapli stagnic anthrosols. The bacterial and diazotrophic community assemblies were mainly shaped by soil depth, followed by soil type. Random forest analysis revealed that nitrogen and iron cycling were strongly correlated in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol, whereas in Hapli soil, available sulfur was the most important variable predicting both nitrogen and iron cycling. The distinctive biogeochemical processes could be explained by the differences in enrichment of microbial taxa between the two soil types. The main discriminant clades were the iron-oxidizing denitrifier Rhodanobacter, Actinobacteria, and diazotrophic taxa (iron-reducing Geobacter, Nitrospirillum, and Burkholderia) in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol and the sulfur-reducing diazotroph Desulfobacca in Hapli stagnic anthrosol. IMPORTANCE Rice paddy ecosystems support nearly half of the global population and harbor remarkably diverse microbiomes and functions in a variety of soil types. Diazotrophs provide significant bioavailable nitrogen in paddy soil, priming nitrogen transformation and other biogeochemical processes. This study provides a novel perspective on the vertical distribution of bacterial and diazotrophic communities in two hydragric anthrosols. Microbiome analysis revealed divergent biogeochemical processes in the two paddy soil types, with a dominance of nitrogen-iron cycling processes in Fe-accumuli stagnic anthrosol and sulfur-nitrogen-iron coupling in Hapli stagnic anthrosol. This study advances our understanding of the multiple significant roles played by soil microorganisms, especially diazotrophs, in biogeochemical element cycles, which have important ecological and biogeochemical ramifications.

Supplemental Material for Associations of RPEL1 and miR-1307 gene polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, glucocorticoid efficacy, anxiety, depression, and health-related quality of life in Chinese systemic lupus erythematosus patients by Zi-Ye Yan, Wan-Qin Hu, Qi-Qun Zong, Guang-Hui Yu, Chun-Xia Zhai, Lin-Lin Wang, Yu-Hua Wang, Ting-Yu Zhang, Zhen Li, Ying Teng, Jing Cai, Yang-Fan Chen, Mu Li, Zhou-Zhou Xu, Fa-Ming Pan, Hai-Feng Pan, Hong Su, and Yan-Feng Zou in Lupus.

The purpose of this study is to explore the associations of BNIP3 and DAPK1 polymorphisms with disease susceptibility, clinicopathologic characteristics, depression, and anxiety in gastric cancer (GC) patients. In this study, 150 GC patients and 100 healthy controls were recruited. 1000 Genomes database and Haploview 4.0 software were used to select tag SNPs. Improved multiplex ligase detection reaction was used for genotyping. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test (χ(2) test) and univariate and multivariate logistic regression. The results demonstrated that the rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model was associated with a reduced risk of GC in the younger group (P (BH) = 0.015), and the minor allele G of rs1329600 at DAPK1 was associated with reduced risk of GC (P (BH) = 0.018). In the stratified analysis, the rs3793742 and rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model were associated with gender and age of GC patients, respectively (rs3793742: P (BH) = 0.033; rs10781582: P (BH) = 0.030). The rs10781582 of BNIP3 in the dominant model was correlated with depression in GC patients (P (BH) = 0.003). However, no association was found between BNIP3 and DAPK1 polymorphisms and differentiation degree, TNM stage, lymph node metastases, visceral metastasis, and anxiety. In summary, polymorphisms of BNIP3 and DAPK1 were associated with a protective effect against GC. So far, this is the first study to explore the association between BNIP3 and DAPK1 gene polymorphism and GC risk, which may provide new insight about biologic mechanisms of GC pathogenesis.

Supplemental Material, sj-pdf-1-ccx-10.1177_10732748211043667 for Peripheral Blood-Based DNA Methylation of Long Non-Coding RNA H19 and Metastasis-Associated Lung Adenocarcinoma Transcript 1 Promoters are Potential Non-Invasive Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer Detection by Dingtao Hu, Xiaoqi Lou, Nana Meng, Zhen Li, Ying Teng, Yanfeng Zou and Fang Wang in Cancer Control

Faster dissolution of CO 2 within aquifers plays a crucial role in the optimal storage of carbon dioxide injected into reservoirs. The mixture of CO 2 and brine triggers convection currents in the aquifer and creates a remarkable increase of the dissolution rate of carbon dioxide. It is very vital for the risk assessment of leakage to obtain accurate description of the CO 2 dissolution rate in the aquifers. In our experiments a series of CO 2 solute-driven convection laboratory tests were performed in transparent vertical Hele-Shaw cells with a 1.2 mm gap that contained brine water overlain by gas phase and visualization of convective phenomena was achieved with the help of bromocresol purple completely solved into the brine at first. After CO 2 -brine film come to existence, small phase fingers caused by density contrast would form and they merge, widen, and penetrate deep into the cell. Much series of images recording the dynamic convection were analyzed. Binarization process can help calculate timescale changes of average/all rich- CO 2 -area which present mass transfer rate of CO 2 into the brine. Effects of such different formation parameters as brine concentration, temperature, high pressure and heterogeneity on the onset and development of convection are investigated in our study. Two time intervals, including onset time and developing time took our most attention. Increasing system Rayleigh number, the formation parameters can greatly strengthen the convective mixing and accelerate the growth of CO 2 solution into the test cell. The sodium chloride solution concentration gradient has an obvious influence on the form and development of convection phenomenon in our experiments. Here, only part results are exhibited in this paper and much further work are under way.

Background Pro‐NTs (precursor of neurotrophins) and their receptor p75 are potential targets for preventing microvascular dysfunction induced by myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury ( IRI ). p75ECD (ectodomain of neurotrophin receptor p75) may physiologically produce neurocytoprotective effects by scavenging pro‐ NT s. We therefore hypothesized that p75 ECD may have a cardioprotective effect on IRI through microvascular mechanisms. Methods and Results Myocardial IRI was induced in Sprague‐Dawley rats by occluding the left main coronary arteries for 45 minutes before a subsequent relaxation. Compared with the ischemia–reperfusion group, an intravenous injection of p75 ECD (3 mg/kg) 5 minutes before reperfusion reduced the myocardial infarct area at 24 hours after reperfusion (by triphenyltetrazolium chloride, 44.9±3.9% versus 34.6±5.7%, P NT s expression at 24 hours and 28 days after reperfusion (by Western blotting). A simulative IRI model using rat microvascular pericytes was established in vitro by hypoxia–reoxygenation (2/6 hours) combined with pro‐ NT s treatment (3 nmol/L) at R. p75 ECD (3 μg/mL) given at R improved pericyte survival (by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay) and attenuated apoptosis (by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP‐biotin nick‐end labeling). In the reperfused hearts and hypoxia–reoxygenation +pro‐ NT s‐injured pericytes, p75 ECD inhibited the expression of p‐JNK (phospho of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase)/caspase‐3 (by Western blotting). SP 600125, an inhibitor of JNK , did not enhance the p75 ECD ‐induced infarct‐sparing effects and pericyte protection. Conclusions p75 ECD may attenuate myocardial IRI via pro‐ NT s reduction‐induced inhibition of p‐ JNK /caspase‐3 pathway of microvascular pericytes in rats.

In this paper, the relationship between reversible reactions and second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) responses forFvRu2(CO)4-linkedpolyoxometalate (POM) derivatives have been systematically investigated by using density functional theory (DFT) method. The order of β values illustrates that the NLO responses can be enhanced by introducing POM and electron donating group(-NH2).According to the TDDFT results, the large βtot values of the studied systems arise mainlydue to the electronic transition from FvRu2(CO)4 group to the POM group.It is noticeable thatthe geometric interconversion resulting for systems 1/1′-4/4′allows the NLO responses to be switched “ON” or “OFF”.The aim of this work is to combine the attractive reversible reactions and NLO response of FvRu2(CO)4-linked POM derivatives to obtain the switchable NLO materials.

Using density functional theory (DFT) in combination with non-equilibrium Green's functions, we have investigated the electronic structures, magnetization, and quantum transport properties of zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) functionalized with conventional conductive metal adatoms (Al, Cu, Ag and Au). On the basis of the adsorption energies, our simulation demonstrates that Al and Cu adatoms are chemically bonded with ZGNRs, while the adsorptions for Ag and Au are between weak chemisorption and strong physisorption. The properties of charge transfer and magnetic moment are in reasonable agreement with the previous calculations. The adsorption of metal adatoms induce a net magnetic moment of −1 μB in 6ZGNR–metal systems. On the other hand, the transport studies of metal adatoms adsorbed ZGNRs suggest that the metal adatoms play an important role in the transport properties of devices and exhibit different effects on the transport properties of 6ZGNR-based and 7ZGNR-based devices. The 7ZGNR-based devices show the opposite conductive order in 6ZGNR-based devices. For 6ZGNR-based devices, the transport current in 6ZGNRs can be enhanced effectively by the adsorption of metal adatoms. However, the currents in 7ZGNR functionalized with conductive metal atoms are obviously smaller than that in pristine 7ZGNR, implying that metal adsorptions reduce the electrical conductivity of 7ZGNR-based devices. In contrast to the properties of the bulk materials, the conductivity of 6ZGNR–Al is highest among 6ZGNR–metal systems, which is in agreement with that of single atomic wires of Ag, Al, Au, and Cu.

Cx43 has been documented to be involved in ischemic preconditioning (IPC). However, the participation of Cx43-formed hemichannels in IPC and the potential underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study focused on cardiomyocytes' volume regulation during IPC to investigate the role of hemichannels in the IPC-induced cardioprotection. In the study, mice cardiomyocytes were respectively treated with a hemichannel blocker, octanol or 18a-Glycyrrhizic acid (18a-GA), and a Cx43-silenced lentivirus. They were subsequently cultured in hypotonic solution to simulate ischemic reperfusion (SIR) and systemic ischemic preconditioning (SIP). Cell morphology and volumetric (area) change were detected by inverted microscopy at 30 min following the addition of hypotonic solution. Cardiomyocyte mortality was assessed by trypan blue stain assay. The analyses revealed that regardless of the treatments, hypotonic solution aggravated cell edema: Compared with the initial condition (the moment before the solution addition, 0 min), the volumetric area increased significantly 30 min later (for hypotonic+DMSO, 5,050±1,511 vs. 3,464±723 µm(2); for hypotonic+scramble lentiviral vector, 5,517±1,128 vs. 2,331±536 µm(2); P0.05 for all). Notably, results indicated that the SIP group had lower mortality rates compared with its SIR counterpart; the hypotonic+octanol, hypotonic+18a-GA, and hypotonic+Cx43-silenced group showed markedly-declined mortality when compared with their respective control groups (respectively, 35.70±1.02, 30.76±2.20 vs. 53.58±2.14%; 30.89±2.37 vs. 54.12±2.55%; P

In the field of material chemistry, it is of great significance to develop abundant and sustainable materials for solar energy harvesting and management. Herein, after evaluating the energy band characteristics of 13 kinds of polyoxometalates (POMs), the trisubstituted POM compound K6H4[α-SiW9O37Co3(H2O)3]·17H2O (SiW9Co3) was first studied due to its relatively smaller band gap (2.23 eV) and higher lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level (−0.63 V vs NHE). Additionally, the preliminary computational modeling indicated that SiW9Co3 exhibited the donor–acceptor (D–A) structure, in which the cobalt oxygen clusters and tungsten skeletons act as the electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. By employing SiW9Co3 to modify the TiO2 film, the visible photovoltaic and photocurrent response were both enhanced, and the light-induced photocurrent at 420 nm was improved by 7.1 times. Moreover, the highly dispersive and small sized SiW9Co3 nanoclusters loading on TiO2 were successfully achieved by fab...

In the field of material chemistry, it is of great significance to develop abundant and sustainable materials for solar energy harvesting and management. Herein, after evaluating the energy band characteristics of 13 kinds of polyoxometalates (POMs), the trisubstituted POM compound K6H4[α-SiW9O37Co3(H2O)3]·17H2O (SiW9Co3) was first studied due to its relatively smaller band gap (2.23 eV) and higher lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level (-0.63 V vs NHE). Additionally, the preliminary computational modeling indicated that SiW9Co3 exhibited the donor-acceptor (D-A) structure, in which the cobalt oxygen clusters and tungsten skeletons act as the electron donor and electron acceptor, respectively. By employing SiW9Co3 to modify the TiO2 film, the visible photovoltaic and photocurrent response were both enhanced, and the light-induced photocurrent at 420 nm was improved by 7.1 times. Moreover, the highly dispersive and small sized SiW9Co3 nanoclusters loading on TiO2 were successfully achieved by fabricating the nanocomposite film of {TiO2/SiW9Co3}3 with the layer-by-layer method, which can result in the photovoltaic performance enhancement of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), of which the overall power conversion efficiency was improved by 25.6% from 6.79% to 8.53% through the synergistic effect of POMs and Ru-complex.

High-temperature diffusion of a hot-dip aluminized titanium is conducted to study microstructure changes and oxidation behavior of the aluminized titanium. After aluminizing, the titanium substrate is covered by a black layer in which tiny block-shaped TiAl3 particles are scattered in aluminum matrix. Based on the diffusion experiment results, the thickness of the aluminum diffusion layer at 800 °C increases with diffusion time. However, the aluminum diffusion layer at 900 °C grows and reaches its maximum thickness in 6 h, and then the thickness of the aluminum diffusion layer is reduced with prolonged diffusion time. An inversion of the diffusion layer thickness versus time appears for the aluminized titanium treated at 1000 °C, and the thickness of the diffusion layer keeps declining with diffusion time. The phases present in the outer and middle sublayers are titanium-rich TiAl3 and equilibrium TiAl3, respectively. However, the phase in inner sublayer changes from titanium-rich TiAl3 to TiAl2 and TiAl as diffusion temperature and time increase. Through energy-dispersive X-ray and X-ray diffraction analysis, the oxides formed in the oxidation process are Al2O3 and Al2TiO5. Although the oxide scale formed on the surface of the aluminized titanium has an insufficient stability and integrity, the thermal oxidation resistance of the aluminized titanium is still improved by over 5 times compared with that of the pure titanium.

Kajian ini mengkaji sama ada Bursa Malaysia adalah efisien dalam bentuk lemah. Penemuan kewujudan anomali bermusim iaitu kesan Januari atau bulanan dan kesan harian akan menolak hipotesis pasaran efisien bentuk lemah. Analisis regresi siri masa digunakan untuk menentukan kewujudan anomali bermusim dalam Indeks Komposit Bursa Malaysia dari tahun 1999 sehingga tahun 2006.

Along with the increasing complexity of the modern very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuit design, the power consumption of the clock distribution network in digital integrated circuits is continuously increasing. In terms of power and clock skew, the resonant clock distribution network has been studied as a promising alternative to the conventional clock distribution network. Resonant clock distribution network, which works based on adiabatic switching principles, provides a complete solution for on-chip clock generation and distribution for low-power and low-skew clock network designs for high-performance synchronous VLSI circuits.This dissertation work aims to develop the global clock distribution network for one kind of resonant clocking technologies: The resonant rotary clocking technology. The following critical aspects are addressed in this work: (1) A novel rotary oscillator array (ROA) topology is proposed to solve the signal rotation direction uniformity problem, in order to support the design of resonant rotary clocking based low-skew clock distribution network; (2) A synchronization scheme is proposed to solve the large scale rotary clocking generation circuit synchronization problem; (3) A low-skew rotary clock distribution network design methodology is proposed with frequency, power and skew optimizations; (4) A resonant rotary clocking based physical design flow is proposed, which can be integrated in the current mainstream IC design flow; (5) A dynamic rotary frequency divider is proposed for dynamic frequency scaling applications. Experimental and theoretical results show: (1) The efficiency of the proposed methodology in the construction of low-skew, low-power resonant rotary clock distribution network. (2) The effectiveness of the dynamic rotary frequency divider in extending the operating frequency range of the low-power resonant rotary based applications.

Mobile internet music services is an important direction for telecom operators' business development. This paper describes the business model of mobile internet music services in detail by adopting e3-value method, which defines how economic value is created, exchanged and consumed within a network of actors. In this paper, we define, derive and analyze multi-enterprise relationships, and we re-position the actors in the industry value chain. Combining with a practical case, we do structural analysis and value estimate, seeking to improve the existing business model and to find innovative measures.

In the view of co-operative and non-cooperative game perspective, by comparing the income and gains of different organizational modes of agricultural industry chain and its members, this article analyzed the efficiency of the agricultural industry chain and the cooperative efficiency of its member enterprises, and provide the theoretical basis for the improvements of China's organizational agricultural industry chain model Based on the constructed game model, we concluded that cooperative agricultural industry chain is more efficient than non-cooperative agriculture industry chain, and its efficiency also varies from the degrees of cooperation. Compared with non-cooperative industry chain, the members of cooperative industry chain own more efficiency. However, under the situation of existed company cooperation within the industry chain, the newly ones added in and cooperated with the other members of the industry chain, their cooperation is of no efficiency.

Ouang Teng-Ying. Mutations provoquées par les rayons X chez le Riz cultivé (Oryza Sativa L.). In: Journal d'agriculture tropicale et de botanique appliquée, vol. 5, n°11, novembre 1958. pp. 681-690.

Ouang Teng-Ying. The use of radiation treatment for improving rice and barley varieties. In: Journal d'agriculture tropicale et de botanique appliquée, vol. 11, n°1-3, Janvier-février-mars 1964. pp. 12-17.

Ouang Teng-Ying. Recherche sur la création de variétés de riz précoces par les radiations. In: Journal d'agriculture tropicale et de botanique appliquée, vol. 12, n°6-8, Juin-juillet-août 1965. pp. 351-356.

An enterprise group is a complex group of independent enterprises that are linked by a number of formal or informal relationships. Regarding enterprise group as a kind of business ecosystem, this dissertation explores the relationship between enterprise’s business ecological strategic capabilities and enterprise group’s ecosystem health based on Sichuan Port and Channel Development Enterprise Group, adopting business ecological perspective, enterprise capability theory and social network analysis theory. From ecological perspective, enterprises within a business ecosystem will be playing different roles. Therefore each of them will be having different basic strategic capabilities corresponding to its specific role, which will not only be influencing the enterprise’s own performance, but also stimulate the system’s ecosystem health. This dissertation used role-capabilities matching model to measure enterprise’s business ecological strategic capabilities, and construct a regression model of the enterprise’s role-capabilities matching rate and performance. We demonstrated and clarified enterprises business ecological strategic capabilities’ influence to the enterprise group’s ecosystem health. We proposed relevant theoretical hypotheses of the relationship between enterprise’s rolecapabilities matching rate and enterprise group’s ecosystem health, the every dimension of business ecological strategic capabilities of niche player and enterprise group’s ecosystem health, and verify our hypotheses using data from questionnaires responded by the top management in Sichuan Port and Channel Development Enterprise Group’ s enterprises. Main conclusions drawn were that 1) the higher the enterprise’s role-capabilities matching rate was, the better the enterprise group’s ecosystem health would be; 2) The niche player’s business ecological strategic capabilities of every dimensions have a positive impact on the enterprise group’s ecosystem health, yet different dimensions of business ecological strategic capabilities have different mechanisms in impacting such performance. Our findings have practical significance in enterprise group governance. Um grupo empresarial é um grupo complexo de empresas independentes ligadas por várias relações formais e informais. Considerando o grupo empresarial como um tipo de ecossistema empresarial, com base no Grupo Empresarial do Desenvolvimento do Canal e do Porto de Sichuan, esta dissertação explora a relação entre capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios da empresa e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, adotando a perspetiva ecológica de negócios, teoria de capacidade empresarial e teoria de análise de redes sociais. Do ponto de vista ecológico, as empresas num ecossistema de negócios desempenharão papéis diferentes. Por isso, cada um deles terá diferentes capacidades estratégias básicas, correspondentes ao seu papel específico, que não apenas influenciarão o desempenho da própria empresa, mas também estimularão a saúde do ecossistema. Esta dissertação usa o modelo de função-capacidade para medir as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios da empresa e constrói um modelo de regressão sobre a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa e o seu desempenho. Demonstrámos e esclarecemos a influência das capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócio da empresa na saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial. Baseado na revisão extensiva de literatura na área de perspetiva ecológica de negócios, de teoria de capacidade empresarial e de teoria de análise de redes sociais, propomos hipóteses relevantes à relação entre a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, entre cada dimensão das capacidades estratégias ecológicas do jogador de nicho e a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial. Pesquisamos na relação entre empresas no ecossistema do grupo empresarial, as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de empresa, a saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, com base nos questionários feitos pela administração sénior das empresas do Grupo Empresarial do Desenvolvimento do Canal e do Porto de Sichuan e verificamos as nossas hipóteses através dos dados obtidos a partir dos questionários. As conclusões são: 1) mais alta a taxa de correspondência de função-capacidade da empresa, melhor saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial; 2) as capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios de cada um dos participantes de cada dimensão têm um impacto positivo na saúde do ecossistema do grupo empresarial, mas diferentes dimensões das capacidades estratégicas ecológicas de negócios têm mecanismos diferentes para influenciar esse desempenho. Os nossos resultados não apenas contribuem para a construção do ecossistema de negócios dentro do grupo empresarial, mas também têm significado teórico para estudos quantitativos sobre micro-questões relacionadas ao ecossistema de negócios.

This dissertation explores the relationship between the complementary resources and entry mode in diversification transformation strategy of China National Tobacco Corporation adopting resource dependence theory and resource base theory. We use "multiple regression empirical analysis method" and "longitudinal case study" approach to test whether the complementary resources and entry mode are related to diversified subsidiary’s performance. We address two main research questions: a) how does diversified subsidiary’s dependence on the main business’ resources affect its performance? And b) whether do entry mode have influence on the relationship between the complementary resources and diversified subsidiary’s performance. We conduct an extensive literature review and proposed relevant theoretical hypotheses of the relationship among the complementary resources, entry mode, and diversified subsidiary’s performance. We survey on resource complementarity, entry mode and performance based on questionnaire distributed to the top management in both CNTC and its subsidiaries and verify our hypotheses using raw date from 196 valid questionnaires. It is found that remarkable positive relation is only found between resource complementarity and diversified subsidiary’s financial performance, and diversified entry modes exert a moderating effect on resource complementarity’s relations with diversified subsidiary’s performance, financial performance and growth performance. Further, we explore the evolving relationship of the resource dependency and entry mode in the corporation’s diversification in a dynamic perspective based on a longitudinal case drawing on a rich array of documents from CNTC’s progressing in strategic transformation. Our findings have practical significance in the design of a gradual diversification transformation strategy, and especially to managers of CNTC which diversification has become an inevitable choice due to increasingly tight smoke-free policy. Esta dissertação explora a relação entre os recursos complementares e modo de entrada na estratégia de transformação de diversificação da China National Tobacco Corp, adoptando a teoria de dependência de recurso e teoria de base de recurso. Utilizamos a abordagem do "método de análise empírica de regressão múltipla" e "estudo de caso longitudinal" para testar se os recursos complementares e o modo de entrada estão relacionados como desempenho do subsidiário diversificado. Abordamos duas questões de pesquisa principais: a) como é que a dependência do subsidiário diversificado nos recursos do negócio principal afecta o seu desempenho? E b) se o modo de entrada tem influência na relação entre os recursos complementares e o desempenho do subsidiário diversificado. Realizamos uma revisão literária extensa e propomos as hipóteses teóricas relevantes da relação entre os recursos complementares, modo de entrada e desempenho do subsidiário diversificado. Pesquisamos a complementaridade de recurso, modo de entrada e desempenho com base no questionário distribuído na gestão de topo da CNTC e suas subsidiárias e verificamos as nossas hipóteses utilizando os dados de 196 questionários válidos. Descobrimos que a relação positiva notável é unicamente encontrada entre a complementaridade de recurso e o desempenho financeiro do subsidiário diversificado, e modos de entrada diversificados exercem um efeito moderado nas relações de complementaridade de recurso com o desempenho do subsidiário diversificado, desempenho financeiro e desempenho de crescimento. Além disso, exploramos a relação em evolução da dependência de recurso e modo de entrada na diversificação da corporação numa perspectiva dinâmica com base num desenho de caso longitudinal sobre uma matriz rica de documentos do progresso de transformação estratégica da CNTC. Os nossos resultados têm um significado práctico no design de uma estratégia de transformação de diversificação gradual, e especialmente para os gestores da CNTC os quais a diversificação se tornou uma escolha inevitável devido à política contra o tabaco cada vez mais apertada.

In process of China’s industrialization and urbanization, how to realize the sustainable livelihoods of land lost farmers has become an urgent problem in society transformation. The thesis constructs Land Lost Farmer Households’ Sustainable Livelihoods Framework;; defines the sustainability of livelihood pathway from perspective of behavior pattern;; studies their livelihood conditions and selection mechanism of livelihood pathways;; and proposes suggestions for compensation policies for land expropriation. It concludes that the problems of policies included low standard of compensation, low coverage of social security, and lack of employment support, which led to relatively high dissatisfaction with policies and dependence on the government. For land lost farmers households, faced with land lost shocks, the asset-­and-­goal-­based livelihood behavior is the most important factor to affect livelihood pathway and finally determine livelihood outcome. The livelihood assets base determines the capability to adjust livelihood behaviors, and the goals-­oriented livelihood attitude determines the intention of adjusting behaviors. Because of the relatively good base of livelihood assets before land lost, the whole matching rate between assets and behaviors and income increased after land lost, showing the overall improvement of livelihood pathways’ sustainability, but the gap among households was widen and livelihood demands were different. Some suggestions are proposed as: to meet diversified demands of households by policy portfolio package to enhance base of livelihood assets;; to fully exert the leverage function of policies to motivate active livelihood behaviors;; and to optimize external livelihood environment to create more of employment or entrepreneurial opportunities for land lost labors. No processo de industrialização e urbanização vivido nas últimas décadas na China, milhares de camponeses perderam as suas terras, o que fez com que o debate sobre a sustentabilidade de vida destas pessoas se transformasse num assunto urgente para a sociedade chinesa. Esta tese constrói um modelo de Sustentabilidade das Vidas dos Camponeses Expropriados;; define a sustentabilidade da trajetória de vida tendo em consideração os seus comportamentos (adaptação entre o comportamento e os ativos disponíveis);; estuda as vidas dos camponeses expropriados e a escolha da trajetória de vida utilizando dados provenientes de investigação no terreno, nomeadamente “Casos de Estudo”. Esta tese faz também sugestões para as políticas compensatórias da expropriação das terras. A tese conclui que os principais problemas das políticas atuais, são os seguintes: baixa compensação, pouca segurança, insuficiente apoio para obter novos empregos. Estes problemas provocam insatisfação nos expropriados. De acordo com as políticas de compensação, o comportamento baseado nos ativos e objetivos constitui um importante factor influenciador da trajetória de vida e dos resultados. Os ativos e os objectivos de vida determinam a capacidade e a intenção de ajustar os comportamentos. Contudo pequenas diferenças provocam grande diferenciação entre os diferentes tipos de famílias. A tese apresenta algumas sugestões para lidar com os problemas dos camponeses expropriados, por exemplo: aumentar a base dos ativos diversificando o portfólio;; exercer plenamente a função de motivar comportamentos ativos de vida;; optimizar a envolvente externa e proporcionar mais oportunidades de emprego, incluindo a criação de empresas.