Succession intention and environmental investment: The moderating role of social status.

Drawing on expectancy theory, this study explains how founders' succession intentions might influence family firms' environmental environments. Using a nationally representative sample of Chinese private firms, we find that family firms make more environmental investments when founders have succession intentions. We also find that the relationship between founders' succession intentions and family firms' environmental investments is negatively moderated by the founders' subjective social status. Moreover, the results show that, compared with ownership succession intentions, the positive role of founders' management succession intentions on family firms' environmental investments is more prominent. This study helps us to better understand the impact of succession intentions on family business decision-making from a psychological perspective. It enriches the research on succession intentions and provides practical implications for family firms' sustainable development.

miR-4324 inhibits ovarian cancer progression by targeting FEN1.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies, with a 1.9% mortality rate worldwide. The dysregulation of the FEN1 gene and miR-4324 has been associated with cancer progression. However, the relationship between miR-4324 and-FEN1 requires further investigation. METHODS: miR-4324 and FEN1 expressions in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines were measured via RT-qPCR. The interaction between miR-4324 and FEN1 was assessed using luciferase and RNA pull-down assays. The effects of miR-4324 and FEN1 on cell proliferation, adhesion and apoptosis were determined by CCK-8, BrdU, colony formation, cell adhesion, Caspase-3 and western blot assays in ovarian cancer cell lines CaOV3 and OVCAR3, respectively. RESULTS: The results showed that miR-4324 expression was significantly decreased and FEN1 expression was enhanced in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines. miR-4324 inhibitor promoted cell proliferation, adhesion and migration, and prevented apoptosis. Furthermore, the downregulation of FEN1 inhibited ovarian cancer cell growth and increased apoptosis. miR-4324 inhibited FEN1 expression and repressed ovarian cancer progression. CONCLUSION: Our study found that miR-4324 inhibited FEN1 expression, suppressed cell growth, and increased apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, we identified miR-4324 and FEN1 as potential therapeutic targets for ovarian cancer treatment.

Does Entrepreneurs' Military Experience Promote Corporate Environmental Investment? Evidence from Chinese Private Firms.

Although it is well established that the military experience of top executives has a profound influence on firms' decisions, empirical evidence on how military experience matters to corporate environmental investment has been scarce. Drawn on imprinting theory and upper echelon theory, this study examines the impact of entrepreneurs' military experience on corporate environmental investment. Using a nationwide survey of Chinese private firms, we find that entrepreneurs' military experience significantly promotes corporate environmental investment. Further, the positive effect is more pronounced for firms with entrepreneurs who have experienced a wartime atmosphere and those located in regions with more minor public environmental concerns. Our study extends the literature on the determinants of corporate environmental investment and the economic consequences of individual military experience. Moreover, this also provides practical insights for policymakers on how to implement environmental governance and promote ecological construction.

Kindness is rewarded! The impact of corporate social responsibility on Chinese market reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study takes the COVID-19 outbreak as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance can help firms mitigate drops in their share prices. The results show that CSR ratings are positively associated with cumulative abnormal return (CAR) during the COVID-19 outbreaks periods. Further, the positive role of CSR is more significant for non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOE) and those located in regions with lower levels of marketization.

Reduced Klotho expression contributes to poor survival rates in human patients with ovarian cancer, and overexpression of Klotho inhibits the progression of ovarian cancer partly via the inhibition of systemic inflammation in nude mice.

Klotho is a recently discovered anti­aging gene, which has been reported as a tumor suppressor in numerous human malignancies; however, the role of Klotho in human ovarian cancer remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to detect the expression of Klotho and evaluate its association with the progression of human ovarian cancer. A clinical follow­up study of 120 patients with ovarian cancer and 78 normal controls was conducted. The expression levels of Klotho were determined by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated that high Klotho expression levels were detected in all normal controls, whereas the positive rate of Klotho was 61.6% in the ovarian cancer group, which was significantly decreased compared with in the control group (P<0.01). Furthermore, reduced Klotho expression was significantly correlated with decreased survival rates in patients with ovarian cancer (P=0.025). Subsequently, Klotho levels were detected in seven human ovarian cancer cell lines by western blotting. The results demonstrated that the highest levels of Klotho were detected in CaOV3 cells, medium levels of Klotho were detected in CaOV4 and SKOV­3 cells, and almost no Klotho was detected in the other four cell lines: OVCA 432, OVCAR­5, OVCAR­8 and A2780 cells. The association between Klotho levels and cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay, and the results indicated that higher levels of Klotho inhibited the proliferation of A2780 and OVCAR­5 cells, whereas reduced Klotho expression promoted cell growth of CaOV3 and SKOV­3 cells. In addition, the plasma levels of inflammatory cytokines in tumor­bearing mice and normal control mice were detected by enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay, and plasma interleukin (IL)­6 and IL­1ß levels were elevated in all tumor­bearing mice. Notably, the mRNA expression levels of IL­6 were significantly higher in the liver, ovaries and kidneys of Klotho­/­ mice compared with in wild type mice (P<0.01), thus indicating that aberrant Klotho expression may contribute to systemic inflammation in Klotho­/­ mice. Finally, the in vivo antitumor role of aberrant Klotho expression was determined in a nude mice model. A2780 cells were transfected with pCMV6­Klotho and the stably transfected cells were screened; the mice were injected with the stably transfected cells. The results indicated that tumor volume and tumor weight were significantly decreased in the pCMV6­Klotho group compared with in the pCMV6 vector group (P<0.01). These findings suggest that overexpression of Klotho may suppress tumor growth in animal models. In conclusion, Klotho was demonstrated to act as a potent tumor suppressor in human ovarian cancer cells. Reduced Klotho expression was detected in the specimens of patients with ovarian cancer, and overexpression of Klotho significantly inhibited cell proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, Klotho may be considered a useful key target for the molecular therapy of human ovarian cancer.

Expressions of lysophosphatidic acid receptors in the development of human ovarian carcinoma.

AIM: To investigate the associations between the expressions of three lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) receptors (LPA1-3) and the development of ovarian carcinoma (OC). METHOD: Ovarian tissue specimens, including normal ovarian epithelium tissues, benign ovarian tumor tissues and OC tissues were collected from patients who underwent surgical resections between March 2012 and December 2014. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect LPA receptor expressions in ovarian tissues. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to detect mRNA and protein expression of LPA receptors, respectively. Association analysis between LPA receptors protein expression and clinical pathological characteristics was conducted. The value of LPA2 and LPA3 in discriminating OC was confirmed by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curves analysis. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of LPA2 and LPA3 in OC group was obviously higher than normal control and benign groups. The LPA2 and LPA3 mRNA and protein levels in OC group were higher than in normal control and benign groups. LPA2 and LPA3 mRNA expression levels were positively correlated with LPA2 and LPA3 protein expression in OC group. ROC curve analysis revealed that LPA2 yield a specificity of 96.3% and a sensitivity of 97.9%, and LPA3 yield a specificity of 98.5% and a sensitivity of 97.9% for the detection of OC. CONCLUSION: LPA2 and LPA3 were highly expressed in OC tissues, which may be involved in the development of OC. Further, LPA2 and LPA3 had higher sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing the OC from benign ovarian tumors, which could be potential diagnostic indictors in OC.