Global responsibility and strategic risk management

The emergence of a global business risk, caused by a more intense companies’ strategic and organizational complexity, leads both the researchers and the enterprises to a concept of a global responsibility as a paradigm for effective relationships with all stakeholders. This global concept of responsibility must include the areas of legal, economic, social and environmental commitment and suggests an integrated approach to risk management. The aim of this article is to propose a theoretical framework about the relations among stakeholders’ expectations, responsibility areas and risk management. By means of a qualitative analysis, the authors intend to suggest some reflections about the approach of some meaningful global companies towards their potential risks and the relationships with their stakeholders

Exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and hexachlorobenzene, semen quality and testicular cancer risk

PURPOSE: We carried out a case-control study to investigate the possible role of occupational and environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors in the onset of testicular cancer (TC). METHODS: We evaluated 125 TC patients and 103 controls. Seminal fluid examination and organochlorine analysis were performed in all subjects. Cases and controls were also interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect demographic information, residence, andrological medical history and dietary information. RESULTS: We found that a higher level of reproductive tract birth defects was associated with a higher risk of TC. With regard to diet, cases reported a higher consumption of milk and dairy products than controls. Overall, there was a statistically significant increase in TC risk in cases with detectable values of total polychlorinated organic compounds against controls (14.4 vs. 1.0 %; p < 0.001). TC patients with detectable levels of organochlorines had lower mean semen parameters than those with undetectable levels, although this difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently included dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Group 1 of known human carcinogens. Our study confirmed and identified various risk factors for testicular cancer: cryptorchidism, consumption of milk and dairy products, parents' occupation and serum concentration of hexachlorobenzene and PCBs and, for the first time, we showed the correlation between semen quality and the serum concentration of these pollutants

Intraluminal recanalization of long infrainguinal chronic total occlusions using the Crosser system

Purpose: To assess the safety and efficacy of a device for vibrational angioplasty in the percutaneous intraluminal recanalization of long infrainguinal chronic total occlusions (CTO). Technique: The Crosser CTO Recanalization System is a mechanical recanalization device that uses high-frequency vibrational energy to disrupt and channel through fibrocalcific plaque without harming the vessel wall, thus assisting in the recanalization of an occluded artery. In 12 diabetic patients (7 men; median age 71 years, range 58–80) with critical limb ischemia owing to long (median length 26 cm, range 21–32) infrainguinal CTOs resistant to conventional guidewire techniques, the Crosser CTO Recanalization System was successful in intraluminally crossing the occlusion in 9 (75%) patients in ,5 minutes (mean 4:03 minutes). The safety endpoint (distal lumen guidewire position with no vessel perforation or dissection) was achieved in all successful cases. Conclusion: In our preliminary experience, the Crosser CTO Recanalization Catheter decreased crossing time, was safe, and achieved a high rate of intraluminal recanalization of long infrainguinal CTOs. J Endovasc Ther. 2009;16:23–27 Key words: critical limb ischemia, chronic total occlusion, percutaneous interventions, infrainguinal occlusion, intraluminal recanalization, vibrational energ

Cell-surface binding domains from Clostridium cellulovorans can be used for surface display of cellulosomal scaffoldins in Lactococcus lactis

Engineering microbial strains combining efficient lignocellulose metabolization and high-value chemical production is a cutting-edge strategy towards cost-sustainable 2nd generation biorefining. Here, protein components of the Clostridium cellulovorans cellulosome were introduced in Lactococcus lactis IL1403, one of the most efficient lactic acid producers but unable to directly ferment cellulose. Cellulosomes are protein complexes with high cellulose depolymerization activity whose synergistic action is supported by scaffolding protein(s) (i.e., scaffoldins). Scaffoldins are involved in bringing enzymes close to each other and often anchor the cellulosome to the cell surface. In this study, three synthetic scaffoldins were engineered by using domains derived from the main scaffoldin CbpA and the Endoglucanase E (EngE) of the C. cellulovorans cellulosome. Special focus was on CbpA X2 and EngE S-layer homology (SLH) domains possibly involved in cell-surface anchoring. The recombinant scaffoldins were successfully introduced in and secreted by L. lactis. Among them, only that carrying the three EngE SLH modules was able to bind to the L. lactis surface although these domains lack the conserved TRAE motif thought to mediate binding with secondary cell wall polysaccharides. The synthetic scaffoldins engineered in this study could serve for assembly of secreted or surface-displayed designer cellulosomes in L. lactis

On the limiting mechanism of irradiation enhancement of I/sub c/

Irradiation may significantly increase I/sub c/ in HTS. A systematic pattern occurs: R=I/sub c/(afterirr.)/I/sub c/(beforeirr.) increases at low defect density, d. It reaches a peak, and then it falls below 1 at high d. The pinning center mechanism, which causes R to increase, has been extensively studied. The falloff in R has not. It has been considered a secondary effect. Here, we will show that the fall-off plays an important role in determining the maximum I/sub c/ enhancement achievable. A phenomenological model to describe the R-vs.-d curve, over the entire d range, is proposed. The idea is that R is the product of two competing effects. (i) Irradiation damage acts as pinning centers, hence increases critical current density, J/sub c/. (ii) Damage reduces the flow-area. Hence, it decreases the net critical current. Data on U/n processed Bi-2223 tapes are fitted to this model. The fitting indicates: (1) the reduction of the flow-area accounts for the majority of the R falloff; and (2) It is sufficient to describe J/sub c/ enhancement as linear with d, and it depending on field and temperature only through the ratio b=B/B/sub irr/, where B/sub irr/ is the irreversible field before irradiation

Kelp gull ( <i>Larus dominicanus</i> ) as a carrier of pathogens in the patagonian coast

En este trabajo se estudió el transporte de enterobacterias por parte de la gaviota cocinera (<i>Larus dominicanus</i>), en un sector de la costa patagónica. A lo largo de un año (1995-96), un total de 100 individuos de distinto sexo y clase de edad, fueron capturados en el basural pesquero de Puerto Deseado. A cada uno de ellos se le realizó un hisopado cloacal y el sexo fue determinado por disección en el laboratorio. El análisis bacteriológico fue realizado por medio de pruebas bioquímicas convencionales, determinándose la presencia de al menos 10 especies de enterobacterias pertenecientes a los géneros: <i>Escherichia, Proteus, Citrobacter, Salmonella, Hafnia, Shigella, Enterobacter y Yersinia</i>. No se hallaron diferencias en las tasas de prevalencia entre sexos y clases de edades. La presencia de patógenos, para el hombre ó el ganado, en el tracto intestinal de las gaviotas a lo largo del año no mostró grandes diferencias, salvo para Proteus, que tuvo un pico de presencia durante la primavera y el verano y Citrobacter, durante la primavera. Salmonella typhimurium representa la entero bacteria encontrada de mayor riesgo para el hombre y el ganado y fue registrada durante gran parte del año. Aunque en el presente estudio no se investigan las tasas de infección bacteriana en humanos o ganado, la abundancia de gaviotas cocineras, sus hábitos alimenticios y la ubicación relativa de la ciudad (entre las colonias y el basural), convierten a estas aves en un probable candidato como vector de patógenos. Palabras Claves: Gaviotas, Larus dominicanus, enterobacterias, basurales, residuos, PatagoniaIn this paper we analyzed the carriage of pathogens by Kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus) in a portion of the Patagonian coast. During one year (1995-96), 100 individual s of different sex and age class were caught at fisheries tip of Puerto Deseado. Faecal samples were obtained from individual birds by cloacal swab and sex was determined at laboratory by dissection. We registered at least ten species of bacteria of eight genus (Escherichia, Proteus, Citrobacter, Salmonella, Hafnia, Shigella, Enterobacter and Yersinia), using standard biochemical technics. There were no differences in carriage rates between sexes and age classes. Camage rates were similar over almost all year, but Citrobacter was more abundant during Spring and Proteus during Spring and Summer. Salmonella typhimurium represents the more risky species for cattle and humans and it was found during most of the year. Despite this study was not focused to investigate the infection rates in humans or cattle, the abundance of kelp gulls, its pattems of feeding and movements, the relative location of the city (between fisheries tip and breeding areas), makes the species a very likely candidate for a pathogens vector