Over the past 25 years, the technology strategy literature has examined how four primary mechanisms—patents, secrecy, lead time, and complementary assets—influence whether and to what extent firms capture value generated by their innovations. Although this literature has had a profound impact on our understanding of how firms capture value from innovation, we have yet to develop a robust theory that allows us to unbundle the characteristics of institutions, industries, firms, and individual technologies that affect the selection of particular value capture mechanisms. The purpose of this article is to provide a foundation for addressing these gaps in the literature. We identify and assess relevant scholarly work regarding value capture mechanisms published in top-tier peer-reviewed management journals between 1980 and 2011. We then review the assumptions, insights, and causal mechanisms for the antecedents and consequences of the value capture mechanisms highlighted in these articles. The ultimate objective is to identify research opportunities that help to better understand the conditions under which specific bundles of value capture mechanisms are most likely to help innovating firms achieve persistent superior performance.

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have shown great promise in versatile bioapplications. For the first time, organosilica-shelled β-NaLuF4:Gd/Yb/Er nanoprobes with a rattle structure have been designed for dual-modal imaging and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Benefiting from the unique rattle structure and aromatic framework, these nanoprobes are endowed with a high loading capacity and the disaggregation effect of photosensitizers. After loading of β-carboxyphthalocyanine zinc or rose Bengal into the nanoprobes, we achieved higher energy transfer efficiency from UCNPs to photosensitizers as compared to those with conventional core-shell structure or with pure-silica shell, which facilitates a large production of singlet oxygen and thus an enhanced PDT efficacy. We demonstrated the use of these nanoprobes in proof-of-concept X-ray computed tomography (CT) and UC imaging, thus revealing the great potential of this multifunctional material as an excellent nanoplatform for cancer theranostics.

Lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have recently shown great promise in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Herein, we report a facile strategy to fabricate an efficient NIR-triggered PDT system based on LiYF4:Yb/Er UCNPs coupled with a photosensitizer of a β-carboxyphthalocyanine zinc (ZnPc-COOH) molecule via direct electrostatic interaction. Due to the close proximity between UCNPs and ZnPc-COOH, we achieved a high energy transfer efficiency of 96.3% from UCNPs to ZnPc-COOH, which facilitates a large production of cytotoxic singlet oxygen and thus an enhanced PDT efficacy. Furthermore, we demonstrate the high efficacy of such a NIR-triggered PDT agent for the inhibition of tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo, thereby revealing the great potential of the UCNP-based PDT systems as noninvasive NIR-triggered PDT agents for deep cancer therapy.

Dynamic rheometry was utilized to characterize viscoelastic changes during heat-induced gelatinization of 2 domestic rice starch suspensions, 1 from waxy and the other from indica rice. Gelatinization included 4 stages: suspension into sol, sol transition to gel, network destruction, and network strengthening. Increase in storage modulus (GЈ) was observed as early as about 47 ЊC. For indica rice, the maximum value (GЈ max ) was higher, and the decrease afterwards was slower, owing to its higher amylose content. The effects of heating time and temperature were found additive. Sealing samples with oil affected the accuracy of measurement. Finally, the network of starch gels had a larger fractal dimension than that of soy protein isolates previously investigated, suggesting firmer food texture.

A generic approach to make the uniform graphene oxide (GO) hydrogels by using glucono-d-lactone (GDL) as a hydrogel promoter has been put forward for the first time. Either in situ released multivalent metal ions (e.g. La 3+ , Co 2+ , Ni 2+ ) or in situ protonized polyamine (e.g. polyethylenimine, melamine, polyamidoamine) molecules have assembled GO sheets into 3D hydrogel architectures with the assistance of the hydrolysis product of GDL. The permanent network and mechanical property of the resulting GO hydrogels have been studied by rheology investigation. The chemical composition and porous morphology of the resulting GO hydrogels have been revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The microstructure of the resulting GO hydrogels has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. More interestingly, a reversible gel-sol transition initially triggered with the addition of the EDTA solution, depending on which additive (in situ released multivalent metal ions or in situ protonized polyamine molecules) is used for 3D assembly of the GO sheets, has been observed from the resulting GO hydrogels.

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Cereal Chem. 74(1):34-39Fourteen varieties of rice from Taiwan, including five Indica, five Japonica, and four waxy cultivars, were used in this study for the examination of fine structure and physicochemical properties of amylopectin. The results indicated that the amylopectin of Indica rice had lower molecular weight, lower average degree of polymerization (DP), and lower average chain number when compared to Japonica and waxy varieties. The shortest average DP was 6 glucose units for all 14 rice varieties. The average chain lengths (CL) of amylopectin were 18-22, 15-18, and 17-20 for Indica, Japonica, and waxy rice, respectively. Indica varieties with high amylose content had amylopectin that com-prised a few extra long chains (DP >100). The CL distribution profiles of amylopectins for these 14 varieties could be divided into two factions: CL 10-15 and CL 40-44. Amylopectin of the Indica rice had a relatively high blue value and λ max , implying that a high proportion existed as long branches. The amylopectin of three Indica varieties with lower DP exhibited higher intrinsic viscosity, which might be attributed to the more elongated rod conformation of the few extra long chain amylopectins. The proportion of short chains with DP 6-9 glucose units seemed to influence the rate of the retrogradation of amylopectins.

In this work, we reported a multi-responsive luminescent hydrogel with properties of encryption, naked eye sensing of glucose, shape memory, self-healing, and antibacterial activity. The hydrogel (GA/CCS/DNSA/Eu3+) was obtained by mixing phenylboronic acid-modified gelatin (GA-DBA), catechol-modified carboxymethyl chitosan (CCS-PCA), 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA), and Eu3+ ions through a facile heating–cooling process. The resultant hydrogel exhibits reversible luminescence and color and phase changes in response to temperature, acid/base, salt, and redox stimuli. Based on the multiple responsiveness, information encryption and decryption, naked eye sensing of glucose, remarkable shape memory, and enhanced mechanical properties of the as-prepared hydrogel were realized. In addition, the self-healing capacity was also achieved due to the dynamic bonds in GA/CCS/DNSA/Eu3+ hydrogels. Specifically, the GA/CCS/DNSA/Eu3+ hydrogels possess antibacterial activity owing to the bacteriostasis of the CCS-PCA and DNSA/Eu3+ complex. Thus, GA/CCS/DNSA/Eu3+ hydrogels have potential applications in the fields of anticounterfeiting, wearable devices, biomedicine, sensing, etc.