Boosting sustainability and financial performance: the role of supply chain controversies

In recent years, numerous scandals concerning working conditions in Asia have threatened the reputation of large companies like Wal-Mart and Inditex. Since such scandals call attention to activities harmful to sustainable development, it is very important to study the relationships between concerns for sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), sustainability, and organisations’ market value. The added value of our study is, first, to explore SSCM controversies as drivers of or pressures for adopting and applying sustainability practices; and, second, to contribute to the recent but growing literature that analyses the channels through which SSCM and sustainability practices influence the firm’s value. We introduce sustainability environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices as a mediator between SSCM controversies and market value to examine whether SSCM controversies with firms’ stakeholders lead to improvements in the ESG dimensions of organisational sustainability. We also examine the relationships between the ESG dimensions and market value, measured as Tobin’s Q ratio. The results confirm both the positive relationships of SSCM controversies to the ESG dimensions two years later and a positive relationship of the dimension of governance to Tobin’s Q. We also confirm a negative and significant relationship of the social dimension to Tobin’s Q, and a non-significant relationship of the environmental dimension to Tobin’s Q

The Relationship between Exploration and Exploitation Strategies, Manufacturing Flexibility, and Organizational Learning: An Empirical Comparison between Non-ISO and ISO Certified Firms

The markets in which organizations currently operate require them to use behaviour based on both exploitation strategy and exploration strategy, each of which contributes fundamental benefits for the firm’s success. Exploitation strategy attempts to obtain the maximum advantage from existing abilities, whereas exploration strategy searches for new ways for the organization to adapt. Further, since manufacturing markets are characterized by short product life, they require a high level of manufacturing flexibility, which can play a crucial role in the development of the exploitation and exploration strategies. This study analyses the relationship of manufacturing flexibility to exploitation and exploration strategies, taking into account an issue of maximum international scope: the implementation of ISO standards. In many international markets, ISO implementation is crucial in enabling organizations to be competitive. However, no consensus has been reached concerning the real benefits that these systems provide to the organizations that implement them. The main goal of our study is to analyse whether there are significant differences in the relationship of manufacturing flexibility to exploitation and exploration strategies in ISO 9001:2000 certified organizations and non-certified organizations. Our results show that most of the relationships analysed are only significant in ISO certified organizations. As an added value, the study analyses the relationship of exploitation and exploration strategies to organizational learning orientation and finds this relationship to be significant in all cases.This work has been developed with funding and collaboration of the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Union. Project I+D ECO2010-15885

Envejecimiento cerebral ¿ Un proceso irreversible?

The world population is aging rapidly. Aging brain is associated with cognitive and memory impairments which are linked, not to a general loss of neurons, but to synaptic changes and reduction in adult stem/progenitor cells and neurogenesis. Aging is the strongest risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that culminates in dementia and total dependence of patients and for which effective pharmacological treatment is not yet available. The number of elderly people over 80 years is projected to triple globally by 2050 and nearly half will be afflicted with AD. Theeffects of aging were traditionally thought to be immutable, however current research provides an increasing body of evidence supporting extrinsic systemic manipulations such as physical exercise, caloric restriction, and changing blood composition by heterochronic parabiosis or young plasma administration to have the potential to counteract this age-related loss of plasticity in the mice aged brain, significantly improving memory and cognition. Therefore, potential systemic rejuvenating factors may constitute the basis for future therapies to reverse cognitive decline during aging and neurodegenerative diseases.La población mundial está envejeciendo rápidamente. El envejecimiento cerebral conlleva un deterioro de la memoria y la función cognitiva, que no se asocian con una pérdida masiva de neuronas sino con cambios sinápticos y con una reducción de la población de células madres/progenitoras neurales y del proceso de neurogénesis. La edad es el principal factor de riesgo para desarrollar la enfermedad de Alzheimer (AD), un trastorno neurodegenerativo devastador que culmina en un estado de demencia y total dependencia de los pacientes y para el cual aún no existe un tratamiento farmacológico efectivo. El número de personas mayores de 80 años se triplicará en el 2050, y aproximadamente la mitad sufrirá de AD. Los efectos del envejecimiento habían sido considerados tradicionalmente inmutables, sin embargo las investigaciones recientes demuestran que las intervenciones sistémicas extrínsecas, tales como el ejercicio físico, la restricción calórica y los cambios en la composición de la sangre mediante parabiosis heterocrónica o administración de plasma de individuos jóvenes, tienen el potencial de contrarrestar la pérdida de plasticidad en el cerebro de ratonesviejos, mejorando significativamente la memoria y la función cognitiva. Por lo tanto, los potenciales factores rejuvenecedores sistémicos podrían ser la base de futuras estrategias para revertir el deterioro cognitivo durante el envejecimiento y en las enfermedades neurodegenerativas

Integrative taxonomy and molecular phylogeny of “dagger” and “needle” nematodes (Fam. Longidoridae) infesting grapevine soils in Portugal.

Dagger and needle, commonly known as longidorid nematodes, are one of the most economically important parasitic nematode groups in grapevine worldwide. They are polyphagous root ectoparasites causing severe damage to plants by their direct feeding, and in addition some species can transmit plant viruses. Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) is transmitted by Xiphinema index, and it is one of the main responsible for a progressive degeneration of grapevines which occurs in most vineyards worldwide. Surveys are being conducted since 2015 on representative vineyards. An integrative taxonomy strategy based on the combination of morphometric and morphological characterizations with molecular analysis using ribosomal DNA segments (rDNA) (D2–D3 expansion regions of the 28S gene, and ITS1 region) and/or a segment of a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (cytochrome c oxidase 1 subunit or COI), were used for identification of longidorids. Severe nematode infestations were found in grapevine soils on the oldest vineyard regions, highlighting X. index by its phytopathological importance. Longidorid nematodes detected, in order of decreasing frequency of infestation were Xiphinema pachtaicum, X. santos, X. index, X. dissimile, X. italiae and Longidorus sp. Disease symptoms were observed on aboveground plant parts of the infected grapevines with X. index, displaying a yellow mosaic pattern in leaves characteristic of infections by GFLV

A Paley-Wiener theorem for Bergman spaces with application to invariant subspaces

An analogue of the Paley–Wiener theorem is developed for weighted Bergman spaces of analytic functions in the upper half-plane. The result is applied to show that the invariant subspaces of the shift operator on the standard Bergman space of the unit disk can be identified with those of a convolution Volterra operator on the space L2 (R+, (1/t)dt).Plan Nacional I+D (Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología)Junta de AndalucíaSecretaría de Estado de Educación y Universidade

Biopsia transrectal ecodirigida de la próstata: Estado del arte y guía práctica de consejos y trucos

Introduction Transrectal biopsy of the prostate was described for the first time in 1937, and it was not until 1981 the first transrectal biopsy of the prostate was done using transrectal ultrasound to guide the procedure. Nowadays it is the most popular technique to obtain prostatic tissue when suspecting adenocarcinoma of the prostate, this due to its easy learning curve and to its excellent diagnostic performance. Up to 68% of urologist in the UK do not do prostate biopsy arguing they have not received enough training The aim of this article is to describe the different techniques, the physics of ultrasonography and a practical guide of tips and tricks from a center where we performed up to 1100 transrectal ultrasound biopsies annually, aiming to improve the diagnostic performance and lower the complicacion rates of the biopsy. Methods We performed a search in PubMed, MEDLINE, SciELO using the keywords “Transrectal ultrasound biopsy of the prostate” “tips and tricks” “Transperineal biopsy of the prostate””Magnetic resonance imaging targeted biopsy” “MRI/US fusion biopsy,” and base on the literature review and our experience of more than a thousand biopsies annually we wrote this article. Results TRUS biopsy of the prostate continue to be the first choice in the urologist armamentarium to diagnose the patient with clinical suspicion of prostate cáncer, with a low complication rate, a good diagnostic performance and an easy learning curve. It is necessary to standardized the procedure, perform a doble sextant biopsy, define the best antibiotic prophylaxis, the technique for anesthesia/analgesia. Here we present our practical guide of tips and tricks. Copyright © 2019, Sociedad Colombiana de Urología. Publicado por Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda., Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Todos los derechos reservados

La cobertura mediática de Podemos en la prensa nativa digital neoliberal española: una aproximación al caso de OkDiario, El Español y El Independiente

Esta investigación pretende abordar la representación que los medios nativos digitales españoles con tendencia neoliberal han realizado sobre el partido político Podemos en el último año. A través de la metodología del Análisis Crítico del Discurso (Van Dijk, 1995), ponemos el foco en el Mensaje que unos medios alineados con la defensa del sistema de economía de mercado reproducen acerca de una formación que, entre sus posturas políticas, ha llegado a plantear reformas estructurales que cuestionan el sistema neoliberal. Del mismo modo, hacemos uso del Enfoque Estructural Simple (Reig, 2017: 25) para conocer al Emisor, aproximándonos al estudio de la estructura mediática que conforma a los medios seleccionados y su consecuente intencionalidad en el mensaje periodístico. Así, tras una selección de los editoriales publicados por los tres medios nativos digitales más importantes de este sector ideológico (OkDiario, El Español y El Independiente) observamos que el tratamiento es explícitamente negativo hacia Podemos y, más concretamente, hacia Pablo Iglesias, siguiendo una línea de desinformación que, en última instancia, favorece a la estructura que sostiene a unos nuevos medios que perpetúan el uso de la prensa como herramienta ideológica

Diseño optimizado y caracterización de hormigones autocompactantes reforzados con fibra polimérica de alto módulo

Los hormigones autocompactantes suponen una alternativa de ejecución fácil y rápida, que garantiza una puesta en obra de calidad y una mejora de las prestaciones mecánicas a igualdad de contenido de cemento. Por otro lado, los hormigones reforzados con fibra de carácter estructural son cada vez más demandados ya que, en el caso de contar con el tipo y proporción de fibra adecuado, permiten la sustitución total o parcial del armado convencional de acero. Este estudio persigue el diseño optimizado de hormigones autocompactantes reforzados con fibra polimérica de alto módulo para la ejecución de obras de rehabilitación, como las llevadas a cabo en las bóvedas de la catedral de San Cristóbal de la Laguna, de tal manera que, manteniendo la característica de autocompactabilidad y sin perjuicio de la durabilidad, dicho hormigón presente un comportamiento post-fisuración que cumpla con las especificaciones del Anejo 14 de la EHE-08, en lo que se refiere a los valores mínimos de resistencia característica residual a tracción por flexión fR,1,k y fR,3,k , de tal forma que la fibra alcance la consideración de estructural, lo que supondría una alternativa técnica al refuerzo con fibra de acero que permitiría la sustitución parcial o total de la armadura de acero