Momentum Project: buscando el equilibrio Entre la Creación de Valor Económico y valor social

[Translated abstract] This paper analyzes an in-depth case analysis on impact investment in Spain. Momentum Project is an initiative to support social entrepreneurs in their path to growth. The goal is to increase the social return and to help the social enterprises to reach their long-term sustainability. At the beginning, Momentum started as an “accelerator” for social entrepreneurs; however, an impact investment vehicle is created to support the financial needs of the growth plan. The characteristics of the investment vehicle are compared to those of the philanthropic venture capital as studied in the academic literature. [Original abstract: El presente artículo analiza un caso de estudio sobre inversión de impacto en España. Momentum Project es una iniciativa que surge para apoyar a los emprendedores sociales a escalar su empresa, con el objeto de incrementar el retorno social y conseguir la sostenibilidad a largo plazo de las empresas. En un primer momento se plantea como una “aceleradora” para emprendedores sociales, sin embargo, se acaba implementando un vehículo de inversión de impacto para poder dar apoyo a las necesidades financieras del plan de crecimiento. Las características del vehículo de Momentum son comparadas con las del capital riesgo filantrópico de acuerdo a la literatura académica.

Psalms for Organ, Volume 11: Ulster

Pages 23-27 in Psalms for Organ, Volume 11

Epigenetically-Inherited Centromere and Neocentromere DNA Replicates Earliest in S-Phase

Eukaryotic centromeres are maintained at specific chromosomal sites over many generations. In the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, centromeres are genetic elements defined by a DNA sequence that is both necessary and sufficient for function; whereas, in most other eukaryotes, centromeres are maintained by poorly characterized epigenetic mechanisms in which DNA has a less definitive role. Here we use the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans as a model organism to study the DNA replication properties of centromeric DNA. By determining the genome-wide replication timing program of the C. albicans genome, we discovered that each centromere is associated with a replication origin that is the first to fire on its respective chromosome. Importantly, epigenetic formation of new ectopic centromeres (neocentromeres) was accompanied by shifts in replication timing, such that a neocentromere became the first to replicate and became associated with origin recognition complex (ORC) components. Furthermore, changing the level of the centromere-specific histone H3 isoform led to a concomitant change in levels of ORC association with centromere regions, further supporting the idea that centromere proteins determine origin activity. Finally, analysis of centromere-associated DNA revealed a replication-dependent sequence pattern characteristic of constitutively active replication origins. This strand-biased pattern is conserved, together with centromere position, among related strains and species, in a manner independent of primary DNA sequence. Thus, inheritance of centromere position is correlated with a constitutively active origin of replication that fires at a distinct early time. We suggest a model in which the distinct timing of DNA replication serves as an epigenetic mechanism for the inheritance of centromere position

A Newly Identified Essential Complex, Dre2-Tah18, Controls Mitochondria Integrity and Cell Death after Oxidative Stress in Yeast

A mutated allele of the essential gene TAH18 was previously identified in our laboratory in a genetic screen for new proteins interacting with the DNA polymerase delta in yeast [1]. The present work shows that Tah18 plays a role in response to oxidative stress. After exposure to lethal doses of H2O2, GFP-Tah18 relocalizes to the mitochondria and controls mitochondria integrity and cell death. Dre2, an essential Fe/S cluster protein and homologue of human anti-apoptotic Ciapin1, was identified as a molecular partner of Tah18 in the absence of stress. Moreover, Ciapin1 is able to replace yeast Dre2 in vivo and physically interacts with Tah18. Our results are in favour of an oxidative stress-induced cell death in yeast that involves mitochondria and is controlled by the newly identified Dre2-Tah18 complex

The Minimal Proteome in the Reduced Mitochondrion of the Parasitic Protist Giardia intestinalis

The mitosomes of Giardia intestinalis are thought to be mitochondria highly-reduced in response to the oxygen-poor niche. We performed a quantitative proteomic assessment of Giardia mitosomes to increase understanding of the function and evolutionary origin of these enigmatic organelles. Mitosome-enriched fractions were obtained from cell homogenate using Optiprep gradient centrifugation. To distinguish mitosomal proteins from contamination, we used a quantitative shot-gun strategy based on isobaric tagging of peptides with iTRAQ and tandem mass spectrometry. Altogether, 638 proteins were identified in mitosome-enriched fractions. Of these, 139 proteins had iTRAQ ratio similar to that of the six known mitosomal markers. Proteins were selected for expression in Giardia to verify their cellular localizations and the mitosomal localization of 20 proteins was confirmed. These proteins include nine components of the FeS cluster assembly machinery, a novel diflavo-protein with NADPH reductase activity, a novel VAMP-associated protein, and a key component of the outer membrane protein translocase. None of the novel mitosomal proteins was predicted by previous genome analyses. The small proteome of the Giardia mitosome reflects the reduction in mitochondrial metabolism, which is limited to the FeS cluster assembly pathway, and a simplicity in the protein import pathway required for organelle biogenesis

Is there correlation between social and economic value? Evidences from the oil industry

The book at hand aims to investigate the correlation between the creation of social and economic value. The main theoretical perspectives considered are Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Social Value, Stakeholder Theory and Social Entrepreneurship. The research is based on a sample of ten companies in the oil industry over the period 2000-2009. It shows that in this sector there is definitely a positive correlation between the creation of economic and social value. This conclusion can be extended to sectors characterized by similar conditions and due to the evolution of the economic and social context, more and more sectors will have to face the same issue. Room for further research is left to demonstrate that other sectors characterized by social and environmental impacts face the same situation. The analysis should help shed some light on the importance of creating social value, and should be especially useful to business executives and policy makers interested in the correlation between the creation of social and economic value

An origin of replication and a centromere are both needed to establish a replicative plasmid in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

Two DNA fragments displaying ARS activity on plasmids in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica have previously been cloned and shown to harbor centromeric sequences (P. Fournier, A. Abbas, M. Chasles, B. Kudla, D. M. Ogrydziak, D. Yaver, J.-W. Xuan, A. Peito, A.-M. Ribet, C. Feynerol, F. He, and C. Gaillardin, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:4912-4916, 1993; and P. Fournier, L. Guyaneux, M. Chasles, and C. Gaillardin, Yeast 7:25-36, 1991). We have used the integration properties of centromeric sequences to show that all Y. lipolytica ARS elements so far isolated are composed of both a replication origin and a centromere. The sequence and the distance between the origin and centromere do not seem to play a critical role, and many origins can function in association with one given centromere. A centromeric plasmid can therefore be used to clone putative chromosomal origins coming from several genomic locations, which confer the replicative property on the plasmid. The DNA sequences responsible for initiation in plasmids are short (several hundred base pairs) stretches which map close to or at replication initiation sites in the chromosome. Their chromosomal deletion abolishes initiation, but changing their chromosomal environment does not

Equivalence – Equivalence Relations: Effects of Training-Structure and Competition Between Arbitrary and Relations of Physical Similarity

In this paper we study the necessary and sufficient conditions for the training of conditional relations, the formation of equivalence classes and relations of "equivalence - equivalence". It further investigates the influence of the training structure in the formation of relations of "equivalence-equivalence" and the possible correlation between the baseline relations and the formation of derived relations and response manner under conditions of competition between "equivalence - equivalence "and relations with physical similarity. The results showed that when forming only two equivalence classes of three members, it is possible to establish relations of "equivalence-equivalence". However, in these conditions, the training structure does not affect the performance testing of derived relations. Also, if two modes of response, by "equivalence-equivalence" and physical similarity are available from the beginning of test, mode of responding to the derived relationships prevailed over the physical similarity of stimuli

Relaciones de equivalencia de estímulos y relaciones de equivalencia-equivalencia: efectos de la estructura de entrenamiento

The influence of training structure on the formation of equivalence relations and equivalence-equivalence relations was assessed. Three groups learned conditional relations using different training structures: Many to One, One to Many and Linear Series. The results showed a training structure effect on the percentage of correct responses in the equivalence relations test. However, this effect was not observed on the test of equivalence-equivalence relations. These results show that training structure has effects on the formation of equivalence relations, but it has no influence on equivalence-equivalence relations. These findings are analyzed according to the requirements for the formation of equivalence-equivalence relations

A S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase-like domain within the essential, Fe-S-containing yeast protein Dre2

Yeast Dre2 is an essential Fe-S cluster-containing protein that has been implicated in cytosolic Fe-S protein biogenesis and in cell death regulation in response to oxidative stress. Its absence in yeast can be complemented by the human homologous antiapoptotic protein cytokine-induced apoptosis inhibitor 1 (also known as anamorsin), suggesting at least one common function. Using complementary techniques, we have investigated the biochemical and biophysical properties of Dre2. We show that it contains an N-terminal domain whose structure in solution consists of a stable well-structured monomer with an overall typical S-adenosylmethionine methyltransferase fold lacking two \u3b1-helices and a \u3b2-strand. The highly conserved C-terminus of Dre2, containing two Fe-S clusters, influences the flexibility of the N-terminal domain. We discuss the hypotheses that the activity of the N-terminal domain could be modulated by the redox activity of Fe-S clusters containing the C-terminus domain in vivo