Can large-scale RDI funding stimulate post-crisis recovery growth? Evidence for Finland during COVID-19

Strategies to enhance the corporate innovation resilience in digital era: A cross-organizational collaboration perspective

The current economic environment is characterized by increasing uncertainty, while digitalization has led to profound transformations in both the economy and society. There is a pressing need to conduct an in-depth investigation into the specific effects of cross-organizational cooperation on firms' innovation resilience (FIR) in the digital era, as well as the underlying mechanisms driving these effects. This study utilizes panel data encompassing 30 Chinese provinces and municipalities, intending to analyze the impact of market-based and science-based cross-organizational cooperation on FIR and explore the heterogeneity of this impact. Moreover, the study examines the mediating and moderating mechanisms that influence the relationship between cross-organizational cooperation and FIR. The findings indicate that both market-based cooperation, including cooperation with suppliers (CS) and cooperation with customers (CC), and science-based industry-university-research cooperation (IURC) significantly enhance FIR, with science-based IURC demonstrating the most pronounced effect. Additionally, it is revealed that the impact of market-based and science-based cross-organizational cooperation exhibits spatial heterogeneity in promoting FIR. Market-based and science-based cross-organizational cooperation effectively improves enterprise liquidity, enhances operational efficiency, and consequently enhances innovation resilience (IR). Moreover, the positive impact of cross-organizational cooperation on FIR is amplified by increasing the degree of digital transformation and digital technological innovation.

Sulfotransferase 4A1 Coding Sequence and Protein Structure Are Highly Conserved in Vertebrates

Cytosolic sulfotransferases (SULTs) are Phase 2 drug-metabolizing enzymes that catalyze the conjugation of sulfonate to endogenous and xenobiotic compounds, increasing their hydrophilicity and excretion from cells. To date, 13 human SULTs have been identified and classified into five families. SULT4A1 mRNA encodes two variants: (1) the wild type, encoding a 284 amino acid, ~33 kDa protein, and (2) an alternative spliced variant resulting from a 126 bp insert between exon 6 and 7, which introduces a premature stop codon that enhances nonsense-mediated decay. SULT4A1 is classified as an SULT based on sequence and structural similarities, including PAPS-domains, active-site His, and the dimerization domain; however, the catalytic pocket lid 'Loop 3' size is not conserved. SULT4A1 is uniquely expressed in the brain and localized in the cytosol and mitochondria. SULT4A1 is highly conserved, with rare intronic polymorphisms that have no outward manifestations. However, the SULT4A1 haplotype is correlated with Phelan-McDermid syndrome and schizophrenia. SULT4A1 knockdown revealed potential SULT4A1 functions in photoreceptor signaling and knockout mice display hampered neuronal development and behavior. Mouse and yeast models revealed that SULT4A1 protects the mitochondria from endogenously and exogenously induced oxidative stress and stimulates cell division, promoting dendritic spines' formation and synaptic transmission. To date, no physiological enzymatic activity has been associated with SULT4A1.

Digitalization and entrepreneurial firms' resilience to pandemic crises: Evidence from COVID-19 and the German Mittelstand

While stressing the relevance of context, the organizational resilience literature has so far not extensively examined resilience in times of healthcare crises such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Parasite Stress Theory of Values suggests that such pandemic crises have detrimental impacts on entrepreneurial activity due to social distancing and its effects on interaction, collaboration, and innovation. However, alternatives to personal contact now available thanks to digitalization, have not yet been examined. We expect entrepreneurial firms with more digitalized business models to show higher resilience to pandemic crises, especially those highly affected by globalization and more for non-family businesses than for family businesses. Based on a survey of German Mittelstand firms in the midst of the crisis induced by COVID-19, our findings broadly support our expectations and thus help qualify the Parasite Stress Theory of Values and contribute to a better understanding of organizational resilience in times of pandemic crises.