Abstract

ObjectiveIgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a chronic systemic disease involved in many organs and tissues. As only limited autoantigens have been found since the beginning of this century, the aim of this study was to reveal new candidate autoantigens of IgG4-RD.MethodsMultiple cell lines including HT-29, EA.hy926, HEK 293 and HepG2 were used to test the binding ability of circulating autoantibodies from IgG4-RD sera. The amino-acid sequence was then analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight tandem (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. After the cloning and expression of recombinant putative autoantigen in a bacterial expression system, the corresponding immuno assay was set up and utilized to observe the prevalence of serum autoantibodies in a large set of confirmed clinical samples.ResultsOne positive autoantigen was identified as prohibitin. ELISA analysis showed that a majority of patients with IgG4-RD have antibodies against prohibitin. Anti-prohibitin antibodies were present in the sera of patients with definite autoimmune pancreatitis (25/34; 73.5%), Mikulicz’s disease (8/15; 53.3%), retroperitoneal fibrosis (6/11; 54.5%), other probable IgG4-RD (26/29; 89.7%) and Sjögren’s syndrome (4/30; 13.3%) but not in apparently healthy donors (1/70; 1.4%).ConclusionsAn association between prohibitin and patients with some IgG4-RD was observed, although the results were quite heterogeneous among different individuals within autoimmune pancreatitis, Mikulicz’s disease and retroperitoneal fibrosis.

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Purpose -Given the changing role of patents within enterprises, this research aims to investigate the link between patent management and technological innovation performance in Chinese high-tech enterprises. Also, from theoretical underpinnings this study highlights the managerial implications of effective patent management which will lead to enhanced technological innovation performance. Design/methodology/approach -Hypotheses related to patent management and technological innovation performance in Chinese high-tech enterprises have been developed based on a review of the literature and related field interviews. Data has been collected from 118 high-tech enterprises using questionnaires and analyzed using regression and SEM analysis. Findings -Patent acquisition has a positive impact on both protection and commercialization of patents. Considered together, the combination of patent acquisition and commercialization has a positive impact on technological innovation performance in high-tech enterprises. While patent protection positively affects patent commercialization, it has no direct effect on economic or societal performance. Therefore, the key factors to enhance the link between patent management and technological innovation performance of Chinese high-tech enterprises are effective patent acquisition and subsequent commercialization. Originality/value -From a resource-based view, this paper delineates the concept of patent management and validates the link between patent management and technological innovation performance. To the authors' knowledge, it is a relatively new perspective to explore patent management based on a micro-level.

A museum’s core activities traditionally focus on such areas as collections’ care, exhibitions and scholarship. Income generation, including retail activities, is considered secondary[...]

Blockchain, as an emerging technology, is essentially a shared database in which data or information is stored with features of "unforgeable", "whole-process traceable", "transparent" and "collective maintenance". Based on these characteristics, blockchain technology has a broad prospect of application in the insurance industry because it has laid a solid foundation of "trust", and created a reliable cooperation mechanism. At present, blockchain technology has been widely used in the fields of transportation, logistics, trade and charity. It has also attracted the attention of banking, insurance and other financial industries. The application of blockchain in other industries has been discussed in many other publications already, but it has not been systematically discussed in the insurance industry. This paper will make people have a deeper understanding of "blockchain + insurance" by introducing the basic concepts and technological advantages of blockchain technology, reviewing the researches and applications of blockchain by the insurance companies, and pointing out several key problems of applying blockchain technology to the insurance industry. Finally, the article will make predictions about the trend of development of applying blockchain technology in the insurance industry.

PurposeBy recognizing the decisive role of top managers (TMs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), this study attempts to explicate the microfoundation of pro-environmental operations of SMEs by examining the influence of institutional pressure on managerial cognition and subsequent SME pro-environmental operations. This study highlights the personal ethics of TMs, so as to examine the moderating effect of TMs' place attachment on SMEs' pro-environmental operations.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data are collected from a questionnaire survey of 509 SMEs in China. Hierarchical regression results are subject to cross-validation using secondary public data.FindingsThis study demonstrates that coercive and mimetic pressures have inverted U-shaped effects, whilst normative pressure has a U-shaped effect on the threat cognition of TMs. The results also show that TMs' threat cognition (as opposed to opportunity cognition) positively influences SMEs' pro-environmental operations. Moreover, both the emotional (place identity) and functional (place dependence) dimensions of place attachment have positive moderating effects on the relationship between threat cognition and SMEs' pro-environmental operations.Practical implicationsFindings of this study lead to important implications for practitioners such as regulators, policy makers and trade associations. Enabling better understanding of the nature of SMEs' pro-environmental operations, they allow for more targeted development and the provision of optimal institutional tools to promote such operations.Originality/valueThis study allows some important factors that differentiate SMEs from large firms to surface. These factors (i.e. institutional pressures, managerial cognition and place attachment) and the interactions between them form important constituents of the microfoundations of SMEs' pro-environmental operations.