Recently, industrial and academic communities in the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field are paying increasing attention to social media. However, the value of social media in OSCM is quite unclear, and more investigations are still needed. To pave the way for a directed future research, this paper systematically reviewed and synthesised 152 peer-review journal papers to identify research focus and gaps in this area, supported by an appropriate conceptual framework. The result reveals that the research interests in this area have increased dramatically within the last decade across various industries and regions. Different companies' OSCM activities, such as sourcing and delivery, can benefit from employment of social media. This paper also indicates that future research can explore the value of social media in sourcing, delivery, product return and reverse logistics activities, forecasting and inventory management, and product development and production.

ObjectiveEpidermal stem cells (ESCs) play a critical role in wound healing, but the mechanism underlying ESC proliferation is not well defined. Here, we explore the effects of RhoA on ESC proliferation and the possible underlying mechanism.MethodsHuman ESCs were enriched by rapid adhesion to collagen IV. RhoA(+/+)(G14V), RhoA(-/-)(T19N) and pGFP control plasmids were transfected into human ESCs. The effect of RhoA on cell proliferation was detected by cell proliferation and DNA synthesis assays. Induction of PKN1 activity by RhoA was determined by immunoblot analysis, and the effects of PKN1 on RhoA in terms of inducing cell proliferation and cyclin D1 expression were detected using specific siRNA targeting PKN1. The effects of U-46619 (a RhoA agonist) and C3 transferase (a RhoA antagonist) on ESC proliferation were observed in vivo.ResultsRhoA had a positive effect on ESC proliferation, and PKN1 activity was up-regulated by the active RhoA mutant (G14V) and suppressed by RhoA T19N. Moreover, the ability of RhoA to promote ESC proliferation and DNA synthesis was interrupted by PKN1 siRNA. Additionally, cyclin D1 protein and mRNA expression levels were up-regulated by RhoA G14V, and these effects were inhibited by siRNA-mediated knock-down of PKN1. RhoA also promoted ESC proliferation via PKN in vivo.ConclusionThis study shows that the effect of RhoA on ESC proliferation is mediated by activation of the PKN1-cyclin D1 pathway in vitro, suggesting that RhoA may serve as a new therapeutic target for wound healing.

No abstract

China has made great efforts to control energy consumption and reduce environmental pressure in recent decades. In the residential sector, the dramatic increase in the ownership of household appliances has driven the growth of electricity consumption, which calls for effective energy-saving policies. In this study, we exemplified the sales of refrigerators in Beijing, aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of current subsidy policies for stimulating the purchase of energy-efficient household appliances.In specific, we first selected ten pairs of refrigerators from six brands having similar functions, however different in their energy efficiency grades (EEG). By applying a combination of net present value (NPV) difference method and Conversion Method of Electrical Engineering Coefficient, we calculated and compared the changes in the NPV difference and dynamic investment payback period (DIPP) to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy. The results revealed that economic benefits were mainly generated in EEG2; thereby we suggest that the government can cancel subsidies for EEG2 refrigerators, and increase the subsidy amount for EGG1 refrigerators at a potential rate of 24% in the future.

No abstract