Long-term Case Study Research Articles

Immediate orthodontic treatment after regeneration of periodontal intrabony defects: A long-term retrospective study

Background/purposeOrthodontic movement is often necessary for periodontally compromised patients to enhance esthetics, function, and long-term occlusal stability. However, the impact of orthodontic treatment immediately following the regeneration of intrabony defects on periodontal healing remains a topic of debate. The objective of this long-term case series study was to test the hypothesis that orthodontic treatment performed immediately after regenerative procedures for periodontal intrabony defects did not adversely affect periodontal healing. Materials and methodsThis case series study involved nine periodontally compromised subjects with a total of 17 intra-bony defects. Orthodontic brackets were applied immediately before surgery. Flaps were raised, and diseased roots were debrided. All intra-bony defects were filled with alloplastic bone grafts and covered with resorbable membranes, except for one defect treated with Emdogain. All patients initiated orthodontic treatment immediately after periodontal regenerative surgery. Clinical parameters, including probing depth, attachment level, and bone fill, were assessed at baseline and during final maintenance therapy. ResultsThe mean follow-up duration was 12.8 years. None of the 17 surgically regenerated teeth were lost. The mean reduction in probing depth was 3.94 mm (95% confidence level, 3.19–4.68; P < 0.001), with a mean clinical attachment gain of 3.47 mm (95% confidence level, 2.90–4.03; P < 0.001). The mean radiographic bone fill was 4.89 mm (P < 0.001). ConclusionBased on the findings of this long-term case study, it can be concluded that immediate orthodontic treatment does not adversely affect the maturation process of periodontal regeneration outcomes and can be maintained for more than ten years.

What can be learned from using participatory landscape scenarios in Rio Doce State Park, Brazil?

ContextThe goal of this work is to describe and explain the conditions that trigger, enable or prevent the implementation of preferred land uses by local communities.ObjectiveThe questions this paper addresses are as follows: Is there a set of preferred scenarios for land use change? What triggers, enables and prevents the implementation of preferred land uses? What did we learn by using participatory landscape scenarios?MethodsIn order to answer the research questions, we synthesize knowledge from a long-term case study in the buffer zone of the Rio Doce State Park in Brazil by (1) Developing participatory landscape scenarios and spatially explicit models for exploring desirable futures and associated land uses, as seen by local communities; (2) Explaining the conditions that trigger, enable or prevent the implementation of preferred landscape scenarios; and (3) Synthesizing knowledge on research and practice for working towards preferred land use changes.ResultsPreferred scenarios for land use change are agroforestry, animal husbandry, tourism and conservation. Although there is biophysical potential and funding available through multiple social and environmental programs, the Rio Doce State Park’s institutional setting is confusing. Although preferred land use scenarios will likely be implemented, participatory landscape approaches require a new, strategic role and leadership by regional institutions. Universities need to bring in social theories and institutional analysis to educate a new generation of landscape stewards.ConclusionWe highlight the role of more responsive social agents and their representative institutions, including the changing role of university-based research and practice for working towards sustainable landscape outcomes.

A long-term case study on marginal diabetes: demonstrating the need for effective calibration of home test devices

A long-term case study on marginal diabetes: demonstrating the need for effective calibration of home test devices

Quality Evaluation of Landfill Leachate After Wetlands Treatment: a Long-term Case Study

Quality Evaluation of Landfill Leachate After Wetlands Treatment: a Long-term Case Study

Increased Abundance Coincides with Range Expansions and Phenology Shifts: A Long-Term Case Study of Two Noctuid Moths in Sweden

Environmental and climatic changes are inducing population declines in numerous species. However, certain species demonstrate remarkable resilience, exhibiting both population growth and range expansion. This longitudinal study in Sweden carried out over two decades (2004–2023) examines the noctuid moths Mythimna albipuncta and Hoplodrina ambigua. Abundance and phenology data were gathered from three light traps in southeastern Sweden and integrated with distribution and phenology data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. In M. albipuncta, the distribution area expanded from 7 to 76 occupied grids (60 km2) and the abundance increased from 7 to 6136 individuals, while in H. ambigua, the distribution area expanded from 1 to 87 occupied grids and the abundance increased from 0 to 6937 individuals, during the course of the study. Furthermore, a positive yearly association was observed between the number of occupied grids and light trap abundance for each species. We also found significant extensions in the adult flight periods of more than 100 days in both species. Light traps emerged as an effective monitoring tool, with light trap abundance as a reliable proxy for distribution changes. Our findings demonstrate that the studied species cope very well with environmental and climatic changes. Given their role as dominant links between primary producers and higher trophic levels, abundance and distribution shifts of these ecological engineers have the potential to cascade up and down in the ecosystem.

A long-term case study indicates improvements in floodplain biodiversity after river restoration

Natural floodplains are complex systems embodying an interwoven network of biodiverse aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Many floodplains have been impaired and disconnected from the river, leading to declines in biodiversity. River restorations often affect floodplains, yet monitoring programs rarely investigate effects on floodplain organisms. This study examined a river restoration project, which improved river hydromorpholgy and partly reconnected the adjacent floodplain. We applied a ‘control–impact’ design to investigate changes in floodplain community composition and diversity four, six, eight, and ten years after the restoration of the Nidda River in central Germany. Investigated taxonomic groups included ground beetles, birds, dragonflies, and spiders. We examined trends of abundance, richness, Shannon diversity, Shannon evenness, and temporal turnover over time post-restoration by comparing restored sites to a non-restored control site. Abundance and diversity increased in bird, dragonfly, and spider communities after the restoration. Effect sizes between restored and unrestored sites were mainly positive, indicating that restoration benefitted the investigated taxonomic groups. However, initially high abundance and diversity numbers of ground beetles declined at the restored sites over time, indicating differing responses across taxonomic groups. Our study accentuates and underlines the necessity for ongoing post-restoration monitoring of both floodplain and aquatic biota.

Twenty Years of Managed Epilepsy for a Stranded Male Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) Secondary to Suspect Domoic Acid Toxicosis

Many wild otariids (sea lions and fur seals) strand along the California coast annually with seizures following presumed exposure to harmful algal blooms (HABs). This is a long-term case study of a stranded subadult male Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) that stranded in 2001 and within days after admission began demonstrating seizure activity. The epilepsy was stabilized with antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy and advanced imaging was performed. Magnetic resonance (MR) scans showed signs of encephalopathy consistent with domoic acid (DA) toxicosis. This fur seal was deemed “non-releasable” and over the following 19 years, he received supportive veterinary care and AED treatment at a permitted facility. In the summer of 2020, the fur seal showed progressive behavioral and functional deterioration whereupon humane euthanasia was performed. Post-mortem MR and diffusion tensor images (DTI) were acquired. A volumetric comparison with historic scans showed evidence of severe progressive unilateral right hippocampal atrophy. Histopathology confirmed severe chronic right and mild left hippocampal atrophy. The progressive degenerative brain changes demonstrate how adaptive brain function can be with neuronal atrophy secondary to DA exposure. This case highlights some considerations and decision-making processes needed for the rehabilitation and placement of wild stranded otariids with acquired epilepsy secondary to DA toxicity.

Evaluation of degradation energy productivity of photovoltaic installations in long-term case study

In the last twenty years, photovoltaic installations have become a popular form of renewable energy sources, both in Europe and around the world. One of the European pioneers in this field was Germany. Photovoltaic installations are inevitably associated with a decrease in productivity during operation years based on power degradation of photovoltaic cells. This article analyzes the decrease in energy productivity of installations over 16 years using the example of two rooftop photovoltaic installations and proposes a modified methodology for calculating the decreasing effect. The tested installations are located in the south-west of Germany, in the town of Sinsheim. The first installation, I-1, has a capacity of 37.8 kWp (Suntech panels, 150 Wp), and the second one, I-2, has a capacity of 18.48 kWp (Suntech panels, 165 Wp). In the first two years, the actual productivity calculated from the theoretical productivity estimated for the installation (modified Performance Ratio value) was 95.8% for I-1 and 96.8% for I-2. However, in the years 2020–2021 (the last two years of the installation's operation), the actual productivity calculated from the theoretical productivity estimated for the installation was 93.9% for I-1 and 93.8% for I-2. The reported yearly power degradation rate in the analyzed installations was 0.11%/year for I-1 and 0.2%/year for I-2, which is lower than in the literature examples.

From seeing to saving: How rhinoceros-based tourism in north-west Namibia strengthens local stewardship to help combat illegal hunting

The opportunity to encounter wildlife, especially endangered species, has long been a major tourism draw for countries around the world with demand continuing to grow. Yet direct evidence testing the underlaying assumptions of tourism as a wildlife conservation strategy has been more limited particularly where tourism benefits are assumed to “trickle down” to rural communities that foster local stewardship. A long-term case study from north-west Namibia's communal lands presents and evaluates a theory of change for a community-level black rhinoceros conservation tourism model that explicitly incorporates local values and institutions in design expected to deliver results that enhance local-level stewardship and improving conservation outcomes for the population. Between 2012 and 2018, the numbers of tourists participating in and revenue generated from local ranger-based rhinoceros viewing encounters directly to local community institutions increased dramatically by over 200% with over USD $1,000,000 generated during the 6 year period. Subsequent community re-investments in rhinoceros protection was evidenced by a 340% increase in the employment of local “Rhino Rangers” during the same period. Further, a strong positive relationship between community institutions that directly provide support to and benefit financially from tourism with the level of their reinvestment in rhinoceros conservation suggest that communities that benefited more from rhinoceros-based tourism demonstrated higher levels of stewardship. A strong negative relationship observed between rates of illegal hunting of the rhinoceros population and the level of local rhinoceros protection efforts suggest that the increase in local stewardship likely contributed to the reduction in illegal hunting. The Namibia Conservancy-led rhino conservation tourism case offers evidence and lessons that illustrate how carefully curated wildlife tourism that is designed specifically with community engagement and empowerment in mind may serve as a strong basis for enhanced local stewardship that helps improve wildlife and local human communities.

Multiple global change drivers show independent, not interactive effects: a long-term case study in tallgrass prairie.

Ecosystems are faced with an onslaught of co-occurring global change drivers. While frequently studied independently, the effects of multiple global change drivers have the potential to be additive, antagonistic, or synergistic. Global warming, for example, may intensify the effects of more variable precipitation regimes with warmer temperatures increasing evapotranspiration and thereby amplifying the effect of already dry soils. Here, we present the long-term effects (11 years) of altered precipitation patterns (increased intra-annual variability in the growing season) and warming (1°Cyear-round) on plant community composition and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), a key measure of ecosystem functioning in mesic tallgrass prairie. Based on past results, we expected that increased precipitation variability and warming would have additive effects on both community composition and ANPP. Increased precipitation variability altered plant community composition and increased richness, with no effect on ANPP. In contrast, warming decreased ANPP via reduction in grass stems and biomass but had no effect on the plant community. Contrary to expectations, across all measured variables, precipitation and warming treatments had no interactive effects. While treatment interactions did not occur, each treatment did individually impact a different component of the ecosystem (i.e., community vs. function). Thus, different aspects of the ecosystem may be sensitive to different global change drivers in mesic grassland ecosystems.

Landfill Leachate Treatment by Using Second-Hand Reverse Osmosis Membranes: Long-Term Case Study in a Full-Scale Operating Facility.

Landfill leachate (LFL) has a complex inorganic, organic and microbiological composition. Although pressure-driven membrane technology contributes to reaching the discharge limits, the need for frequent membrane replacement (typically every 1-3 years) is an economical and environmental limitation. The goal of this work is to evaluate the feasibility of using second-hand reverse osmosis (RO) membranes to treat LFL in an industrially relevant environment. End-of-life RO membranes discarded from a seawater desalination plant were first tested with brackish water and directly reused or regenerated to fit with requirements for LFL treatment. A laboratory scale test of second-hand membrane reuse was carried out using ultrafiltered LFL. Then, a long-term test in an LFL full-scale facility was performed, where half of the membranes of the facility were replaced. The industrial plant was operated for 27 months with second-hand membranes. The permeate water quality fit the required standards and the process showed a trend of lower energy requirement (up to 12 bar lower transmembrane pressure and up to 9% higher recovery than the average of the previous 4 years). Direct reuse and membrane regeneration were successfully proven to be an alternative management to landfill disposal, boosting membranes towards the circular economy.

Land acquisition methods and housing construction agents for prompt housing supply: A long-term comparative case study of Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea

The structure of the development project for housing supply should be chosen carefully because each structure has specific advantages and disadvantages. Because the provision of housing lots does not always lead to housing construction, assessment of each structure is required from viewpoint of actual housing provision. This study investigates usage approval dates of housings in Land Readjustment and Housing Site Development projects designated between 1937 and 1999 in Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea, to examine the difference between land readjustment and expropriation method for methods of land acquisition, and between individual landowners and developers for agents of housing construction. The event history analysis reveals that among all housings constructed over a 20-year period, apartments constructed by developers in Housing Site Development projects required a median of 8.44 years for 90% of those to be completed, while low-rise housings constructed by individuals in Land Readjustment projects took 18.50 years. This study reveals the trends in the provision of actual housing in each project type for housing policymakers to refer to.

Managing Diabetes Using Mobiab: Long-Term Case Study of the Impact of a Mobile App on Self-management.

BackgroundThis paper describes the development of a mobile app for diabetes mellitus (DM) control and self-management and presents the results of long-term usage of this system in the Czech Republic. DM is a chronic disease affecting large numbers of people worldwide, and this number is continuously increasing. There is massive potential to increase adherence to self-management of DM with the use of smartphones and digital therapeutics interventions.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe the process of development of a mobile app, called Mobiab, for DM management and to investigate how individual features are used and how the whole system benefits its long-term users. Using at least 1 year of daily records from users, we analyzed the impact of the app on self-management of DM.MethodsWe have developed a mobile app that serves as an alternative form to the classic paper-based protocol or diary. The development was based on cooperation with both clinicians and people with DM. The app consists of independent individual modules. Therefore, the user has the possibility to use only selected features that they find useful. Mobiab was available free of charge on Google Play Store from mid-2014 until 2019. No targeted recruitment was performed to attract users.ResultsMore than 500 users from the Czech Republic downloaded and signed up for the mobile app. Approximately 80% of the users used Mobiab for less than 1 week. The rest of the users used it for a longer time and 8 of the users produced data that were suitable for long-term analysis. Additionally, one of the 8 users provided their medical records, which were compared with the gathered data, and the improvements in their glucose levels and overall metabolic stability were consistent with the way in which the mobile app was used.ConclusionsThe results of this study showed that the usability of a DM-centered self-management smartphone mobile app and server-based systems could be satisfactory and promising. Nonetheless, some better ways of motivating people with diabetes toward participation in self-management are needed. Further studies involving a larger number of participants are warranted to assess the effect on long-term diabetes management.

Protecting local populations of Hazel Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) by translocation: a long-term case study from North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany)

As part of the mitigation measures adopted in the context of preparatory clearcutting for surface mining, Hazel Dormice have been translocated since 2011. The project is situated in the geographical region of Lower Rhine Basin (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). To date, Hazel Dormice have been translocated from an old-growth deciduous forest to four other sites. Three release sites are re-cultivation areas which were planted with trees and shrubs roughly 10 to 30 years ago. The other release site is an old-growth deciduous forest with a well-developed understory. Nest boxes were placed in the source forest and checked between April and October. Any dormice that were found were individually marked and released, inside their nest boxes, at the new sites. Two or three additional nest boxes were placed within the surroundings of each translocated box. Between 2011 and 2018 we translocated 1,840 individuals. We verify the success of translocation by monitoring the release sites in June and September of the first, second, fifth and eighth year after translocation. Additionally, a sample of 200 nest boxes were checked each month between April and October for five years. Finally, we examined groups of nest boxes shortly after translocation to gather information on the translocated animals immediately after release. Individual records reveals that translocation can be a successful conservation measure to secure local populations if their former habitat is damaged.

Transitioning Integration: The Case of Regan and the Future of a Paradigm

This article draws on narrative conventions to present a long-term case study involving a person engaged in a relational psychoanalytic treatment for childhood trauma, gender nonconformity, and religious disenfranchisement. Particular efforts are made to recapitulate Lindbeck’s seminal theological insights with regard to the nature and function of ecclesial doctrines, which are subsequently applied as hermeneutical sensibilities toward various integrative themes and processes emerging within this case study. Furthermore, a number of subordinate perspectives deemed to be coherent within Lindbeck’s superordinate conception of postliberal (or narrative) approaches to theology are privileged throughout this article. These postmodern perspectives are differentiated from more conservative and liberal approaches to theology. Afterward a postliberal theological framework is conceptualized as nesting interdisciplinary insights pertinent to this case study from miscellaneous scholars of relational psychoanalysis, gender and sexuality studies, and postmodern philosophies. Special considerations are given to three nested concepts from these scholars: identities as (co-constructed) soft assemblies; selves as braided and porous; and integrated multiplicity as normative. Auxiliary idioms to include queering, centering, witnessing, and prototyping are also applied at different points in this article. Together these idiomatic concepts are believed to supply viable alternatives to many modern conceptions of essentialism and supplement a postliberal approach to this case study. To be sure, it is suggested throughout this article that forms of modernity are conflated with theological approaches and now require attention from those communities who constitute the integrative paradigm. These points are summarized following this case study, which both reflects critically on the clinician’s subjectivity and renders coherent the clinical process from a postliberal theological framework.

Next generation restoration metrics: Using soil eDNA bacterial community data to measure trajectories towards rehabilitation targets

In post-mining rehabilitation, successful mine closure planning requires specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) completion criteria, such as returning ecological communities to match a target level of similarity to reference sites. Soil microbiota are fundamentally linked to the restoration of degraded ecosystems, helping to underpin ecological functions and plant communities. High-throughput sequencing of soil eDNA to characterise these communities offers promise to help monitor and predict ecological progress towards reference states. Here we demonstrate a novel methodology for monitoring and evaluating ecological restoration using three long-term (>25 year) case study post-mining rehabilitation soil eDNA-based bacterial community datasets. Specifically, we developed rehabilitation trajectory assessments based on similarity to reference data from restoration chronosequence datasets. Recognising that numerous alternative options for microbiota data processing have potential to influence these assessments, we comprehensively examined the influence of standard versus compositional data analyses, different ecological distance measures, sequence grouping approaches, eliminating rare taxa, and the potential for excessive spatial autocorrelation to impact on results. Our approach reduces the complexity of information that often overwhelms ecologically-relevant patterns in microbiota studies, and enables prediction of recovery time, with explicit inclusion of uncertainty in assessments. We offer a step change in the development of quantitative microbiota-based SMART metrics for measuring rehabilitation success. Our approach may also have wider applications where restorative processes facilitate the shift of microbiota towards reference states.

The slow decline of a Columbia Spotted Frog population in Yellowstone National Park: A cautionary tale from a developed zone within a large protected area

Field research and surveys from the past century have provided a valuable resource for documenting amphibian population declines and investigating their possible causes. In Yellowstone National Park, research from the 1950s provided us with an extraordinary opportunity to investigate a Columbia Spotted Frog population’s decline over time in an area modified by increasing human occupation. Herpetologist F.B. Turner’s investigation (1953–1956) of a Columbia Spotted Frog (Rana luteiventris) population set the foundation for decades of study. In the 1990s, acting on Turner’s observation of an apparently sharp reduction in the number of frogs, we replicated his 1950s mark-recapture study with the goals of determining the extent of the decline and examining its possible causes. We continued annual monitoring through 2020. The population declined by nearly 80% between the mid-1950s and mid-1990s. The number of active breeding sites fell from 3 sites in 1950s, to 2 and then 1 in the 1990s, and none after 2007. The decline was accompanied by significant changes in the 28-hectare study area: a road constructed in the 1970s bisected the study area, headwater springs were developed, and facilities were built in and around the study area to support expanding human uses. Changes in spatial characteristics of the remnant frog population are thought to indicate the impacts of local habitat fragmentation, modification and loss. Here we focus on how the activity ranges and patterns of frog dispersal within the study area shrank to a zone upstream of the highway, prior to the eventual extirpation of the local breeding population. Multiple direct and indirect human-caused changes negatively influenced habitat that supported reproduction, survival, and recruitment. Climate change was not found to provide an adequate explanation of the observed changes. While a breeding population of Columbia Spotted Frogs has persisted next to the historical study area, it has experienced large fluctuations in egg mass production and repeated disease outbreaks in the last 15 years. This long-term case study provides a cautionary tale about shifting baselines and how land use may affect amphibian populations even in protected areas. We recommend extended monitoring for amphibians in developed zones of Yellowstone National Park, as visitation grows and conditions are further altered by infrastructure upgrades as well as by climate change.

A low-cost AR training system for manual assembly operations

This research work proposes an AR training system adapted to industry, designed by considering key challenges identified during a long-term case study conducted in a boiler-manufacturing factory. The proposed system relies on lowcost visual assets (i.e., text, image, video, and predefined auxiliary content) and requires solely a head-mounted display (HMD) device (i.e., Hololens 2) for both authoring and training. We evaluate our proposal in a real-world use case by conducting a field study and two field experiments, involving 5 assembly workstations and 30 participants divided into 2 groups: (i) low-cost group (G-LA) and (ii) computeraided design (CAD)-based group (G-CAD). The most significant findings are as follows. The error rate of 2.2% reported by G-LA during the first assembly cycle (WEC) suggests that low-cost visual assets are sufficient for effectively delivering manual assembly expertise via AR to novice workers. Our comparative evaluation shows that CAD-based AR instructions lead to faster assembly (-7%, -18% and -24% over 3 assembly cycles) but persuade lower user attentiveness, eventually leading to higher error rates (+38% during the WEC). The overall decrease of the instructions reading time by 47% and by 35% in the 2nd and 3rd assembly cycles, respectively, suggest that participants become less dependent on the AR work instructions rapidly. By considering these findings, we question the worthiness of authoring CAD-based AR work instructions in similar industrial use cases.

A Discussion on the Training System and Career Planning of Long-Term Care Personnel-A Case Study of the A Skin-Graft With Love Foundation

&lt;p&gt;現今台灣已是高齡化社會，長照人員需求日與俱增，但因人力需求未能有完整規劃，導致人才缺乏窘境的關鍵因素，如何補足照顧人員的缺口，且能留任優秀的人才，將是當前非常重要的課題。故有關長照人員的「培訓」與「職能發展」是目前長照體系中迫切探討與重視的一環。&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;本文主分六章節進行論述，筆者在執業的過程中看到一些長照人員的問題，所以提出自身淺見與各位分享。文中主要分享切膚之愛基金會居服員的培訓制度與職能規劃。希冀透過此議題讓夥伴們，共同一起來關心此議題，進而達到拋磚引玉的效果。&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Contemporary Taiwan is an aged society, which has consequently led to its increasing demand for long-term caregivers. However, the lack of a functional plan has led to a dearth in recruitment, thus making the recruitment and retainment of capable personnel a top priority. In addition, topics relative to the training and career development of long-term caretakers in the existent system would be of utmost importance for discussion.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;This paper is divided into six chapters, each sharing observed problems regarding long-term caregivers during the author’s previous work experience. This paper mainly focuses on sharing the current training system and career planning of A Skin-Graft with Love Foundation. It is our sincere hope that we may achieve more in hopes for a valuable exchange by coming forth together in discussion.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

The Constitutive Role of State Structures in Strategic Coupling: On the Formation and Evolution of Sino-German Production Networks in Jieyang, China

Research on the strategic coupling between regions and global lead firms has largely assumed that the regional assets for coupling are ready made and are largely unchanging throughout the coupling process. This article takes this assumption as its critical point of departure and presents a new framework that considers how regional assets are actively (re)configured across multiple scales in ways that could redefine the prevailing mode of strategic coupling. The empirical basis of this framework is derived from a long-term case study on the formation and evolution of Sino-German production networks in environmental goods and services (EGS) in Jieyang, a relatively peripheral city in Guangdong province in China. The analysis draws from thirty-three interviews and seven focus group discussions, conducted between 2014 and 2020, with nonstate and state actors in Jieyang. Findings highlight how Zhongde, a coalition of Jieyang-based firms, transcended the limitations of structural coupling, which exemplifies uneven power relations between regions and lead firms, and attained more balanced coupling relations with German-led EGS global production networks (GPNs) through realigning interests with those of national-level institutions. Responding positively to the structural constraints and opportunities within a Chinese state structure based on experimental governance, Zhongde connected German EGS lead firms to the highly profitable but protected EGS market in China. This ability to jump between scales underscores the cross-scalar and dynamic aspects of strategic coupling: Zhongde was able to meet German-led EGS GPNs’ demand for market access and enhanced localization economies through reconfiguring regional assets. ing from these findings, the article enhances the explanation of the evolution of strategic coupling by conceptualizing its intrinsic dynamism and incorporating state structural effects. Finally, it presents two directions for further research on GPN reconfigurations.