Search

The introduction of the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed rail (Launch) and the Wenzhou bullet-train collision (Crash) in China provided a unique occasion to study the effect of competition on price dispersion. Results show that price dispersion increased by about 48% after the Launch, as airlines offered greater discounts to price-elastic consumers than to price-inelastic consumers. By contrast, price dispersion decreased by about 55% after the Crash, as airlines raised prices more for price-elastic consumers than for price-inelastic consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between firms' engagement in poverty-alleviation campaigns and stock price crash risk. We use a large sample of Chinese firms listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets and find that firms' engagement in poverty alleviation campaigns is positively associated with future stock price crash risk. Moreover, the positive relationship between firms' engagement in poverty alleviation campaigns and crash risk is more pronounced for state-owned enterprises and firms with relatively concentrated ownership. However, this is less pronounced for those with higher analyst and media coverage. Our results are consistent with the agency theory, suggesting that engaging in poverty alleviation campaign may facilitate managers' bad news hoarding behavior and increase stock price crash risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The surgery for esophageal cancer arising after prior gastrectomy is technically difficult with high morbidity and mortality. Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a minimally invasive endoscopic treatment for superficial SCC with high curative resection rate. But few studies are concerned about ESD under these circumstances. The aim of this study was to elucidate the short- and long-term outcomes of ESD for superficial esophageal squamous cell cancer (SCC) in patients with prior gastrectomy.Methods: From January 2009 to January 2019, 37 patients with prior gastrectomy who underwent ESD for superficial esophageal SCC were retrospectively enrolled at the Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Rates of en bloc resection, complete resection, curative resection, incidence of postoperative bleeding, perforation and postoperative stricture were evaluated as short-term outcomes. Overall survival, and local recurrence-free survival were evaluated as long-term outcomes.Results: The rate of en bloc resection, complete resection and curative resection were 94.6%, 86.5% and 78.4%, respectively. No perforation was observed. 1 (2.7%) patient experienced postoperative bleeding. During the median observation of 43 months, 3 (8.6%) patients experienced esophageal stricture, successfully managed by balloon dilation. 3(8.6%) patients had local recurrence after ESD with 5-year local recurrence-free survival rate of 91.4%. During the observation period, 4 patients died of other reasons. The 1, 3, 5-year overall survival rates were 97.1%, 97.1% and 91.4%.Conclusions: The short-term outcomes indicate ESD is technically difficult with lower resection completeness in patients after gastrectomy, while the long-term outcomes are rather favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: First, this paper aims to explore how CEO humility and relationship conflict in entrepreneurial teams affect the firm-level performance of new ventures. Second, it investigates the moderating effect of CEO political skills on the indirect association between CEO humility and entrepreneurial performance through relationship conflict in entrepreneurial teams. Design/methodology/approach: A questionnaire survey was administered to CEOs and their entrepreneurial team members in 171 start-ups in Shanghai, China. The data obtained from the survey were subjected to multiple regression analysis using the SPSS PROCESS macro and confirmatory factor analysis using Mplus. Findings: The findings are as follows. First, CEO humility can reduce relationship conflict in entrepreneurial teams. Second, CEO political skills moderate the link between CEO humility and relationship conflict in entrepreneurial teams. The weaker the CEO political skills, the stronger the effect of CEO humility on relationship conflict, and the stronger the CEO political skills, the weaker the effect of CEO humility on relationship conflict. Third, relationship conflict in entrepreneurial teams is negatively related to entrepreneurial performance. Finally, CEO political skills moderate the mediating effect of entrepreneurial team relationship conflict on the CEO humility – entrepreneurial performance link. Practical implications: The findings of this study offer guidance for entrepreneurs seeking to improve firm performance. The findings suggest that entrepreneurs should adopt a humble leadership style that cultivates their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses. To improve the centripetal force and cohesion of the entrepreneurial team, they should focus on the team, affirm the contribution of subordinates and accept subordinates' advice. Originality/value: The study reveals that CEO humility has a positive effect on entrepreneurial performance, which enriches research on the effectiveness of humble leadership at the firm level. From the perspective of team relationship conflict, the study also explores the mechanism underlying the effect of CEO humility on entrepreneurial performance, opening the "black box" of CEO humility and entrepreneurial effectiveness. In addition, the study reveals the boundary conditions of the influence of CEO humility, enriching the theoretical literature on humble leadership, political skills and resource conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles is the most direct pathway to decarbonize transportation. This paper investigates the environmental benefits of electric vehicle adoption in Shanghai—China's largest regional electric vehicle market. Using vehicle registration data and well-to-wheel analysis, this paper calculates the potential emissions reductions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants for each electric vehicle model sold in Shanghai in 2018. Our results indicate that electric vehicles have been over-subsidized: The average environmental benefit was less than one-fourth of the mean subsidy received. Also, the environmental benefits were not distributed uniformly: About 80% of electric vehicle models generated less than 20% of the aggregate environmental benefits. Finally, three policy recommendations are provided to improve the environmental benefits of electric vehicle adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive training, a safe non-pharmacological intervention, may help mitigate cognitive decline and prevent the development of dementia in elderly individuals. Objective: Evaluate the long-term effects of cognitive training among healthy elderly community members. Methods: Healthy individuals 70 years of age or older from one urban community in Shanghai were screened and the 151 individuals who met inclusion criteria were assigned either to an intervention group (n=90) or a control group (n=61). The intervention involved twice-weekly training in reasoning, memory, and strategy that continued for 12 weeks (a total of 24 sessions). Participants were assessed at baseline and at 12 weeks, and 5 years after enrollment using the Chinese versions of the Neuropsychological Test Battery for Elderly persons (NTBE), the Stroop Color-Word Test, and a general health questionnaire. Results: Forty-nine (54%) intervention group subjects and 33 (54%) control group subjects completed the 5-year follow-up. There were few differences in the baseline neurocognitive measures of those who did and did not complete the 5-year follow-up, and there were few differences between those who dropped out of the intervention group compared to those who dropped out of the control group. At the 5-year follow-up, individuals in the intervention group performed better than those in the control group on only 5 measures (in the Trails Making A Test and the Cancellation Test 3) of the 61 measures assessed by NTBE and the Stroop tests, but none of these differences met the pre-determined required level of statistical significance (p=0.0008). Conclusion: We do not confirm the results of previous studies that report long-term benefits of brief cognitive training courses for elderly community residents. Our failure to identify differences in cognitive functioning five years after cognitive training is not likely due to differential dropout between the intervention and control groups but may be related to the relatively small sample and the large number of measures being assessed. Future intervention studies for cognitive training in the elderly should be hypothesis driven (i.e., focused on a single outcome measure of interest), use much larger samples, and include regular booster sessions as part of the cognitive training package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As an important measure to alleviate long-term care (LTC) costs for the disabled due to the aging of the population, long-term care insurance (LTCI) system has been paid more attention in China. In addition to the government-led public LTCI system that has been piloted in cities such as Qingdao, Chongqing and Shanghai, health insurers such as the China Life Insurance Company are also experimenting with various types of commercial LTCI in the private market. However, the commercial LTCI market is developing very slowly due to public awareness and other reasons. On the other hand, COVID-2019 has had an impact on the cognition of the importance of long-term care for the elderly due to the fact that the death cases of COVID-2019 have been mainly concentrated in the elderly population with chronic diseases such as hypertension. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the differences in the purchase intention of commercial LTCI among the elderly in two different periods: before and after the outbreak of COVID-2019. Methods: By using the Andersen behavioral model and two investigations in two different periods before and after the outbreak of COVID-2019, this study explores the impacts of COVID-2019 on the purchase intention of commercial LTCI. Results: Some significant discoveries were found. For example, 25.8% of interviewees showed purchase intention in LTCI in the time before the COVID-2019 outbreak, while this proportion increased to 37.6% after the COVID-2019 outbreak. People who were younger (OR = 2.128, before COVID-2019; OR = 1.875, after COVID-2019) or who had more education (OR = 1.502, before COVID-2019; OR = 2.218, after COVID-2019) were more interested in commercial LTCI. Conclusion: This study shows that COVID-2019 has had an obvious impact on the purchase intention of commercial LTCI, which provides some enlightenment for China to improve the LTCI system in the future, especially to accelerate the development of commercial LTCI. For example, it is essential to promote the importance of long-term care among the elderly in a focused and targeted way. In terms of the key target audience, it can be developed gradually from the groups with higher education levels and the middle elderly aged 45–64 years old. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are aggressive sarcomas that typically carry a dismal prognosis. Given the insensitivity of these tumors to traditional chemotherapy and the absence of effective targeted drugs, new therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Photothermal therapy (PTT) including near- infrared laser at the third biowindow (NIR-III) has demonstrated significant potential in cancer theranostics due to its minimally invasive nature and excellent therapeutic outcomes. However, the passive utilization of photothermal agents (PTAs) with poor target specificity and biocompatibility substantially hinders the clinical translation and application of this method. Methods: We evaluated the efficiency, safety, and underlying mechanisms of NIR-III without PTAs in the treatment of MPNSTs. The photothermal performance and tissue penetration capability of the NIR-III laser were evaluated in human MPNST cell lines using CCK-8, Calcein-AM and propidium iodide (PI) staining, and Annexin V-FITC/PI assays. The tumor xenografted mice model was used for evaluating the efficacy and biosafety of NIR-III photothermal ablation. Finally, the underlying mechanisms of NIR- III treatment, explored by whole-transcriptome sequencing, are further verified by RT-qPCR. Results: We found that although the NIR-III photothermal treatment efficiency varied among individuals, which was possibly influenced by different endoplasmic reticulum stress responses, the expected antineoplastic effect was ultimately achieved after adjustment of the power density and radiation duration. Conclusions: The present study provides an intriguing noninvasive therapy for MPNSTs that accelerates the clinical translation of PTT while avoiding the biocompatibility issues arising from PTAs. Funding: This work was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (82102344; 82172228); Shanghai Rising Star Program supported by Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (20QA1405600); Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (22ZR1422300); Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (19JC1413) ; "Chenguang Program" supported by Shanghai Education Development Foundation (SHEDF) (19CG18); Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty (shslczdzk00901); Innovative research team of high-level local universities in Shanghai (SSMU-ZDCX20180700). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]