The Correlation between Climate Change and Corporate Performance

38-43The purpose of the study is to verify the correlation of the climate change risk focusing on the influence of carbon emission on the corporate performance and discriminative response of corporate contingent upon the publishment of Sustainability Report. The results of this study show that there is a negative (-) relationship between Carbon emission intensity and corporate performance. And the negative influence of carbon emission intensity on corporate performance was found to be smaller for companies that published sustainability reports than for those that did not. This study provided empirical evidences on why corporate’s active reactive activities according to the climate change is essential for sustainable development

α-Actinin-4 promotes the progression of prostate cancer through the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway

The first-line treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) is androgen ablation therapy. However, prostate tumors generally recur and progress to androgen-independent PCa (AIPC) within 2-3 years. alpha-Actinin-4 (ACTN4) is an actin-binding protein that belongs to the spectrin gene superfamily and acts as an oncogene in various cancer types. Although ACTN4 is involved in tumorigenesis and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cervical cancer, the role of ACTN4 in PCa remains unknown. We found that the ACTN4 expression level increased during the transition from androgen-dependent PCa to AIPC. ACTN4 overexpression resulted in enhanced proliferation and motility of PCa cells. Increased beta-catenin due to ACTN4 promoted the transcription of genes involved in proliferation and metastasis such as CCND1 and ZEB1. ACTN4-overexpressing androgen-sensitive PCa cells were able to grow in charcoal-stripped media. In contrast, ACTN4 knockdown using si-ACTN4 and ACTN4 nanobody suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of AIPC cells. Results of the xenograft experiment revealed that the mice injected with LNCaPACTN4 cells exhibited an increase in tumor mass compared with those injected with LNCaPMock cells. These results indicate that ACTN4 is involved in AIPC transition and promotes the progression of PCa

The Correlation between Climate Change and Corporate Performance

The purpose of the study is to verify the correlation of the climate change risk focusing on the influence of carbon emission on the corporate performance and discriminative response of corporate contingent upon the publishment of Sustainability Report. The results of this study show that there is a negative (-) relationship between Carbon emission intensity and corporate performance. And the negative influence of carbon emission intensity on corporate performance was found to be smaller for companies that published sustainability reports than for those that did not. This study provided empirical evidences on why corporate’s active reactive activities according to the climate change is essential for sustainable developmen

Desktop Micro Forming System for Micro Pattern on the Metal Substrate

Abstract. In this Research, the desktop micro forming manufacturing system has been developed. A micro forming system has been achieved in Japan and its developed micro press is limited to single forming process. To coincide with the purpose to be more practical, research and development is necessary about the press which the multi forming process is possible. Micro patterned metal components are used in so many precision engineering fields. This micro pattern plays an important part in the functional movement of precision module. This micro pattern on the metal component can be made by EDM(Electro Discharge Machining). But this EDM method has low productivity because EDM tools can be worn easily. If another manufacturing process is developed with high productivity, industries can product the competitive goods. So we research on the forming process and system to make micro functional pattern on the metal component

Remodeling Pattern of Spinal Canal after Full Endoscopic Uniportal Lumbar Endoscopic Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression: One Year Repetitive MRI and Clinical Follow-Up Evaluation

Objective: There is limited literature on repetitive postoperative MRI and clinical evaluation after Uniportal Lumbar Endoscopic Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression. Methods: Clinical visual analog scale, Oswestry Disability Index, McNab's criteria evaluation and MRI evaluation of the axial cut spinal canal area of the upper end plate, mid disc and lower end plate were performed for patients who underwent single-level Uniportal Lumbar Endoscopic Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression. From the evaluation of the axial cut MRI, four types of patterns of remodeling were identified: type A: continuous expanded spinal canal, type B: restenosis with delayed expansion, type C: progressive expansion and type D: restenosis. Result: A total of 126 patients with single-level Uniportal Lumbar Endoscopic Unilateral Laminotomy for Bilateral Decompression were recruited with a minimum follow-up of 26 months. Thirty-six type A, fifty type B, thirty type C and ten type D patterns of spinal canal remodeling were observed. All four types of patterns of remodeling had statistically significant improvement in VAS at final follow-up compared to the preoperative state with type A (5.59 +/- 1.58), B (5.58 +/- 1.71), C (5.58 +/- 1.71) and D (5.27 +/- 1.68), p < 0.05. ODI was significantly improved at final follow-up with type A (49.19 +/- 10.51), B (50.00 +/- 11.29), C (45.60 +/- 10.58) and D (45.60 +/- 10.58), p < 0.05. A significant MRI axial cut increment of the spinal canal area was found at the upper endplate at postoperative day one and one year with type A (39.16 +/- 22.73; 28.00 +/- 42.57) mm(2), B (47.42 +/- 18.77; 42.38 +/- 19.29) mm(2), C (51.45 +/- 18.16; 49.49 +/- 18.41) mm(2) and D (49.10 +/- 23.05; 38.18 +/- 18.94) mm(2), respectively, p < 0.05. Similar significant increment was found at the mid-disc at postoperative day one, 6 months and one year with type A (55.16 +/- 27.51; 37.23 +/- 25.88; 44.86 +/- 25.73) mm(2), B (72.83 +/- 23.87; 49.79 +/- 21.93; 62.94 +/- 24.43) mm(2), C (66.85 +/- 34.48; 54.92 +/- 30.70; 64.33 +/- 31.82) mm(2) and D (71.65 +/- 16.87; 41.55 +/- 12.92; 49.83 +/- 13.31) mm(2) and the lower endplate at postoperative day one and one year with type A (49.89 +/- 34.50; 41.04 +/- 28.56) mm(2), B (63.63 +/- 23.70; 54.72 +/- 24.29) mm(2), C (58.50 +/- 24.27; 55.32 +/- 22.49) mm(2) and D (81.43 +/- 16.81; 58.40 +/- 18.05) mm(2) at postoperative day one and one year, respectively, p < 0.05. Conclusions: After full endoscopic lumbar decompression, despite achieving sufficient decompression immediately postoperatively, varying severity of asymptomatic restenosis was found in postoperative six months MRI without clinical significance. Further remodeling with a varying degree of increment of the spinal canal area occurs at postoperative one year with overall good clinical outcomes

Metastatic lymph node in gastric cancer; Is it a real distant metastasis?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Currently, the TNM staging system is a widely accepted method for assessing the prognosis of the disease and planning therapeutic strategies for cancer. Of the TNM system, the extent of lymph node involvement is the most important independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer. The aim of our study is to evaluate the survival and prognosis of gastric cancer patients with LN#12 or #13 involvement only and to assess the impact of anatomic regions of primary gastric tumor on survival in this particular subset of patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Among data of 1,008 stage IV gastric cancer patients who received curative R0 gastrectomy, a total of 79 patients with LN#12 (n = 68) and/or #13 (n = 11) were identified. All patients performed gastrectomy with D2 or D3 lymph node dissection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In 79 patients with LN#12/13 involvement, the estimated one-, three- and five-year survival rate was 77.2%, 41.8% and 26.6% respectively. When we compared the patients with LN#12/13 involvement to those without involvement, there was no significant difference in OS (21.0 months vs. 25.0 months, respectively; P = 0.140). However, OS was significantly longer in patients with LN#12/13 involvement only than in those with M1 lymph node involvement (14.3 months; P = 0.001). There was a significant difference in survival according to anatomic locations of the primary tumor (lower to mid-body vs. high body or whole stomach): 26.5 vs. 9.2 months (P = 0.009). In Cox proportional hazard analysis, only N stage (p = 0.002) had significance to predict poor survival.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study we found that curatively resected gastric cancer patients with pathologic involvement of LN #12 and/or LN #13 had favorable survival outcome, especially those with primary tumor location of mid-body to antrum. Prospective analysis of survival in gastric cancer patients with L N#12 or #13 metastasis is warranted especially with regards to primary tumor location.</p

Truly form-factor–free industrially scalable system integration for electronic textile architectures with multifunctional fiber devices

Funding Information: This work was supported by the European Commission (H2020, 1D-NEON, grant agreement ID: 685758). J.M.K. and L.G.O. acknowledge the support from the U.K. Research and Innovation (EPSRC, EP/P027628/1). We thank Y. Bernstein and J. Faulkner for helping with grammar check. Funding Information: Acknowledgments Funding:ThisworkwassupportedbytheEuropeanCommission(H2020,1D-NEON,grant agreementID:685758).J.M.K.andL.G.O.acknowledgethesupportfromtheU.K.Researchand Innovation(EPSRC,EP/P027628/1).W ethankY .BernsteinandJ.Faulknerforhelpingwith grammarcheck.Authorcontributions:S.L.andJ.M.K.conceivedtheproject.S.L.,L.G.O.,P .B., R.Martins,andJ.M.K.supervisedtheproject.S.L.andH.L.developedF-PD.S.L.,Y .-W .L., G.-H.A., D.-W .S., J.I.S.,andS.C.developedF-SC.C.L.F ., A.S.,R.I.,P .B., andR.Martinsdevelopedfiber transistor.S.L.,H.L.,andS.C.developedF-LED.ThefiberdeviceswereevaluatedbyS.L.,H.W .C., D.-W .S., H.L.,S.J.,S.D.H.,S.Y .B., S.Z.,W .H.-C., Y .-H.S., X.-B.F ., T .H.L., J.-W .J., andY .K. The developmentofweavingprocesswasconductedbyS.L.,H.W .C., F .M.M., P .J., andV .G.C. Thelaser interconnectionwasdevelopedbyS.L.,H.W .C., K.U.,M.E.,andM.S.Thetextiledemonstrations werecharacterizedbyS.L.,H.W .C., D.-W .S., J.Y ., S.S.,U.E.,S.N.,A.C.,A.M.,R.Momentè,J.G.,N.D., S.M.,C.-H.K.,M.L.,A.N.,D.J.,M.C.,andY .C. ThismanuscriptwaswrittenbyS.L.andJ.M.K.and reviewed by H.W .C., D.-W .S., M.C.,L.G.O., P .B., E.F ., and G.A.J.A. All authors discussed the results andcommentedonthemanuscript.Competinginterests:Theauthorsdeclarethattheyhave nocompetinginterests.Dataandmaterialsavailability:Alldataneededtoevaluatethe conclusionsinthepaperarepresentinthepaperand/ortheSupplementaryMaterials. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights reserved.An integrated textile electronic system is reported here, enabling a truly free form factor system via textile manufacturing integration of fiber-based electronic components. Intelligent and smart systems require freedom of form factor, unrestricted design, and unlimited scale. Initial attempts to develop conductive fibers and textile electronics failed to achieve reliable integration and performance required for industrial-scale manufacturing of technical textiles by standard weaving technologies. Here, we present a textile electronic system with functional one-dimensional devices, including fiber photodetectors (as an input device), fiber supercapacitors (as an energy storage device), fiber field-effect transistors (as an electronic driving device), and fiber quantum dot light-emitting diodes (as an output device). As a proof of concept applicable to smart homes, a textile electronic system composed of multiple functional fiber components is demonstrated, enabling luminance modulation and letter indication depending on sunlight intensity.publishersversionpublishe

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

Corporate Competitiveness Index of Climate Change: A Balanced Scorecard Approach

Climate change is one of the most critical issues in the business sector. This conceptual study proposes a corporate competitiveness evaluation model of climate change by adopting the Balanced Scorecard approach. This study provides a series of specific performance and competitiveness indicators of climate change in the four dimensions of learning and growth, internal process, external stakeholders, and finance and carbon performance. The indicators, which use both quantitative and qualitative methods, can be immediately applied in the field. This study presents practical guidelines to successfully adopt and implement the competitiveness evaluation model in an organization by considering prevalent innovation tools of business process management, process visualization, and knowledge socialization. Finally, it provides some implications for managers and policy-makers who wish to proactively address climate change in the business sector

Small leucine zipper protein functions as a negative regulator of estrogen receptor α in breast cancer.

The nuclear transcription factor estrogen receptor α (ERα) plays a critical role in breast cancer progression. ERα acts as an important growth stimulatory protein in breast cancer and the expression level of ERα is tightly related to the prognosis and treatment of patients. Small leucine zipper protein (sLZIP) functions as a transcriptional cofactor by binding to various nuclear receptors, including glucocorticoid receptor, androgen receptor, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. However, the role of sLZIP in the regulation of ERα and its involvement in breast cancer progression is unknown. We found that sLZIP binds to ERα and represses the transcriptional activity of ERα in ERα-positive breast cancer cells. sLZIP also suppressed the expression of ERα target genes. sLZIP disrupted the binding of ERα to the estrogen response element of the target gene promoter, resulting in suppression of cell proliferation. sLZIP is a novel co-repressor of ERα, and plays a negative role in ERα-mediated cell proliferation in breast cancer