Managerial networking with political actors has long been recognized as a crucial co-option strategy to navigate the challenging institutional environment in emerging economies. However, we know much less about what drives the variation of political networking investment by private ventures. Drawing on resource dependence theory, we unpack the dyadic business-government relations and identify the key organizational and environmental factors that shape the power dependence relationships between private ventures and the government. By examining power imbalance and mutual dependence in this dyadic relationship and considering both the necessity and the capability of political networking, we develop hypotheses regarding the ways in which size-, connection-, and location-based dependencies affect firms’ political networking intensity. These hypotheses are tested through a unique survey of Chinese private ventures. Our study finds that political networking intensity (1) has an inverted U-shaped relationship with firm size, (2) is negatively associated with the presence of embedded political ties while positively associated with that of achieved political connections, and (3) is smaller when the focal firm is located in business development zones. This research bears rich implications for our understanding of corporate political activity in emerging economies from a resource dependence lens.

Metabolically healthy obesity refers to a subset of obese people with a normal metabolic profile. We aimed to explore the association between metabolically healthy and obesity status and risk of hypertension among Chinese adults from The Rural Chinese Cohort Study. This prospective cohort study enrolled 9137 Chinese adults without hypertension, type 2 diabetes or treatment for lipid abnormality at baseline (2007–2008) and followed up during 2013–2014. Modified Poisson regression models were used to examine the risk of hypertension by different metabolically healthy and obesity status, estimating relative risks (RR) and 95 % CI. During 6 years of follow-up, we identified 1734 new hypertension cases (721 men). After adjusting for age, sex, smoking and other confounding factors, risk of hypertension was increased with metabolically healthy general obesity (MHGO) defined by BMI (RR 1·75, 95 % CI 1·02, 3·00) and metabolically healthy abdominal obesity (MHAO) defined by waist circumference (RR 1·51, 95 % CI 1·12, 2·04) as compared with metabolically healthy non-obesity. The associations between metabolically healthy and obesity status and hypertension outcome were consistent after stratifying by sex, age, smoking, alcohol drinking and physical activity. Both MHGO and MHAO were associated with increased risk of hypertension. Obesity control programmes should be implemented to prevent or delay the development of hypertension in rural China.

A thin-film field-effect transistor (TFT) is a three-terminal device comprising source, drain, and gate electrodes, a dielectric layer, a semiconductor layer, and a substrate. The TFT is a fundamental building component in a variety of electronic devices. Developing an intrinsically stretchable TFT entails availability and usage of a functional material with elastomeric deformability in response to an externally applied stress. This represents a major materials challenge. In this article, we survey strategies to synthesize these elastomeric functional materials, and how these materials are assembled to fabricate intrinsically stretchable TFT devices. Developing solution-based printing technology to assemble intrinsically stretchable TFTs is considered a prospective strategy for wearable electronics for industrial adaptation in the near future.

Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites play a significant role in the space segment of the Chinese Area Navigation System. The C-Band transfer ranging method developed by the National Time Service Center (NTSC) has been widely used in the Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS), with its advantages of separating satellite ranging from time synchronization and being unaffected by weather. The explicit ranging correction models for the C-Band transfer ranging method are introduced in detail in this article for the first time. Precise Orbit Determination (POD) using C-Band pseudo-range observation of GEO satellite 2010-001A in July 2012 has been conducted. The residual Root Mean Square (RMS) of each site and POD are analysed with orbit difference over overlaps of adjacent orbit arcs. Moreover, the orbit of the GEO satellite has been evaluated by Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) data from both domestic and foreign SLR sites for the first time. The residual RMS of POD using C-Band observation is better than 0·1 m, and the orbit difference over overlaps of adjacent orbit arcs is better than 3 m. In addition, the residual RMS in line-of-sight for a SLR site in China are better than 1 m, while the RMS for the Yarragadee site in Australia is about 3·4 m. It has been shown that the GEO satellite orbit accords very well with the C-Band observation. Also, the distribution of CAPS stations affects the orbit precision. All sites in CAPS are now located in China with low and medium latitudes. The residual RMS of the SLR site in the southern hemisphere is larger than that of the site in China.

This study mainly focused on the key technologies, the photon dose calculation based on the Monte Carlo Finite-Size Pencil Beam (MCFSPB) model in the Accurate Radiotherapy System (ARTS). In the MCFSPB model, the acquisition of pencil beam kernel is one of the most important technologies. In this study, by analyzing the demerits of the clinical pencil beam dose calculation methods, a new pencil beam kernel model was developed based on the Monte Carlo (MC) simulation and the technology of medical accelerator energy spectrum reconstruction. which greatly improved the accuracy of calculated result. According to the axial symmetry principle, only part of simulation results was used for the data of pencil beam kernel, which greatly reduced the data quantity of the pencil beam and reduced calculated time. Based on the above studies, the MCFSPB method was designed and implemented by the Visual C++ development tool. With several tests including the comparisons among the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) No. 55 Report sample and the ion chamber measurement of lung-simulating inhomogeneous phantom in clinical treatment plan, the results showed that the maximum error of most calculated point was less than 0.5% in the homogeneous phantom and less than 3% in the heterogeneous phantom. This method met the clinical criteria, and would be expected to be used as a fast and accurate dose engine for clinic TPS.

This article explores the dynamic interactions between entrepreneurs and politicians in transitional China through the lens of management buyouts. Specifically, we identify two contrasting outcomes of entrepreneur–politician alliances: privatization buyouts by entrepreneurs implying sustainable original alliances and failed management buyouts implying the collapse of the original alliances. Drawing on the rent appropriation literature, we treat Chinese management buyouts as bargaining, clarification, and redistribution of organizational rent between entrepreneurs and the government agencies represented by local politicians. We further develop a model of entrepreneur–politician bargaining that identifies the determinants of varying rent bargaining and management buyout outcomes.

Let 𝒯X be the full transformation semigroup on a set X and E be a nontrivial equivalence on X. Write then TE(X) is a subsemigroup of 𝒯X. In this paper, we endow TE(X) with the so-called natural order and determine when two elements of TE(X) are related under this order, then find out elements of TE(X) which are compatible with ≤ on TE(X). Also, the maximal and minimal elements and the covering elements are described.

The localization of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and HSP70 mRNA in the heart, liver, lung, kidney, spleen, thymus and cloacal bursa in broilers that were heat stressed for 6 h was conducted using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization techniques. Positive HSP70 mRNA signals were detected in the liver and lung, especially in the vessel walls. A weak presence was found in the myocardial cells. No significant signals were observed in spleen, thymus and cloacal bursa. HSP70 was observed in the vessel walls of all investigated broiler tissues. Localizations of HSP70 and HSP70 mRNA suggest that HSP70 could be correlated with cardiovascular function.

Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of Ser/Thr protein kinase widely distributed in eukaryotes. There is evidence that PKC plays key roles in the meiotic maturation and activation of mammalian oocytes. However, the mechanism of PKC's actions and the PKC isoforms responsible for these actions are poorly understood. In this study, we reveal in mouse eggs and early embryos: (1) the effects of PKC on the meiotic and mitotic cell cycle progression during oocyte maturation, egg activation and embryonic cleavages; (2) the functional importance of classical PKC subclasses in these processes; and (3) the subcellular localization of the PKCα isoform during development from GV stage oocytes to the blastocyst stage embryos. The results indicate that the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) inhibits the meiotic resumption of cumulus-free mouse oocytes by a mechanism dependent not only on classical PKC activity but also on other PKC isoforms. PKC activation after germinal vesicle breakdown leads to the inhibition of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation and the arrest of cell cycle at MI stage. The second polar body emission and the cleavages of early embryos are blocked after prolonged PKC activation. The subcellular localization of PKCα isoform in mouse oocytes and embryos is developmental-stage associated. All these results suggest that PKC has multiple functional roles in the cell cycle progression of mouse oocytes and embryos.

This paper develops a framework for the safety assessment of bridges based on the nondestructive test (NDT) results of concrete. The transient elastic wave test is performed to measure the P wave velocity of concrete. The Bayesian approach is adopted to construct the posterior distribution of concrete strength. Then, reliability analysis is carried out to evaluate the safety of the bridge using the modified distribution. The limit-state function is formulated according to the AASHTO specifications. Finally, the reliability index is compared to the target reliability to see if repair or reconstruction is required. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the safety assessment of a solid-slab bridge using the proposed method.

This study develops a neural network system to monitor the safety of a bridge structure. A truck of constant mass is driven at constant speed through the target bridge. Then, the maximal and minimal values of the bridge elongations are processed by a monitoring system to evaluate the current condition of the bridge. The monitoring system is composed of parallel backpropagation neural networks. Each neural network monitors a part of the bridge. The neural networks are trained using simulation data. The numerical example shows that the monitoring system is effective in the damage detection of the bridge.

ZnO:Al (ZAO) films were deposited on fused silica substrates heated to 350 °C by dc magnetron reactive sputtering from a Zn target mixed with 1.5 wt% Al. Films deposited on a substrate heated to a temperature between room temperature and 300 °C were (001)-oriented crystals, but those grown at 350 °C consisted of crystallites with (001) and (101) orientations. The dependence of electrical properties such as resistivity, carrier concentration, and Hall mobility on temperature was measured. The results indicate that the carrier concentration and Hall mobility increase with increasing temperature up to 250 °C, though the Al content remains unchanged in this temperature range. The probable mechanisms are discussed. The minimum resistivity of ZAO films is 4.23 × 10−4 Ω cm, with a carrier concentration of 9.21 × 1020 cm−3 and a Hall mobility of 16.0 cm2 v−1 s−1. The films show a visible transmittance of above 80%.

Contributions of acoustical deformation scattering, ion impurity scattering and grain boundary potential scattering to the conductivity of TCO films have been calculated to discuss the predominant scattering mechanism, regardless of precise details of the preparation procedure. The results indicate that the effective mass of charge carriers has a strong dependence on carrier concentration. Based on the effective mass correction, as well as the carrier concentration-ionized impurity centers correction, scattering due to ion impurity has been developed to explain the upper limit of mobility or the lower limit of resistivity of TCO films. Two empirical expressions are introduced to depict the dependence of the upper limit of mobility and the lower limit of resistivity of TCO films on carrier concentration.

ZnO:Al (ZAO) films were deposited on quartz substrates by dc magnetron reactive sputtering from a Zn target mixed with Al. The effect of substrate temperature and Al doping content on the structural, electrical and optical properties of ZAO films were investigated. It was observed that the (002) peak position of all films shifts to lower angle comparable to that of bulk ZnO due to the residual stress change with deposition parameters. The dependences of electrical properties such as resistivity, carrier concentration and Hall mobility on substrate temperature and Al doping content were measured. The minimum resistivity is 4.23×10−4 ω.cm with the carrier concentration of 9.21×1020 cm−3 and Hall mobility of 16.0 cm2v−1s−1. The visible transmittance of above 80% was obtained. The optical band gap was observed to increase with increasing carrier concentration. The possible mechanisms are discussed.