Do Good and Do Well: An Empirical Study of the MSCI World

The purpose of our study is to examine the effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Financial Performance. We initially perform a multiple linear regression using Ordinary Least Square on an academically recurring model, and then apply cross sectional fixed effect to account for heterogeneity. Our panel data is composed of approximatively 1500 companies over a five year span, totalizing more than 10000 observations. A primary contribution that we make to the question is introducing country law regime as a control variable, based on Liang & Renneboog (2017) predicator model of CSR. We use Sustainalytics ratings to proxy for CSR as their analyses fulfill the latest academic requirement on the question. Mixed evidence of the effect of CSR on CFP is found, and we also confirm the significance of country law regime as a predicator

Entropic Tension in Crowded Membranes

Unlike their model membrane counterparts, biological membranes are richly decorated with a heterogeneous assembly of membrane proteins. These proteins are so tightly packed that their excluded area interactions can alter the free energy landscape controlling the conformational transitions suffered by such proteins. For membrane channels, this effect can alter the critical membrane tension at which they undergo a transition from a closed to an open state, and therefore influence protein function \emph{in vivo}. Despite their obvious importance, crowding phenomena in membranes are much less well studied than in the cytoplasm. Using statistical mechanics results for hard disk liquids, we show that crowding induces an entropic tension in the membrane, which influences transitions that alter the projected area and circumference of a membrane protein. As a specific case study in this effect, we consider the impact of crowding on the gating properties of bacterial mechanosensitive membrane channels, which are thought to confer osmoprotection when these cells are subjected to osmotic shock. We find that crowding can alter the gating energies by more than $2\;k_BT$ in physiological conditions, a substantial fraction of the total gating energies in some cases. Given the ubiquity of membrane crowding, the nonspecific nature of excluded volume interactions, and the fact that the function of many membrane proteins involve significant conformational changes, this specific case study highlights a general aspect in the function of membrane proteins.Comment: 20 pages (inclduing supporting information), 4 figures, to appear in PLoS Comp. Bio

NOA1 Functions in a Temperature-Dependent Manner to Regulate Chlorophyll Biosynthesis and Rubisco Formation in Rice

NITRIC OXIDE-ASSOCIATED1 (NOA1) encodes a circularly permuted GTPase (cGTPase) known to be essential for ribosome assembly in plants. While the reduced chlorophyll and Rubisco phenotypes were formerly noticed in both NOA1-supressed rice and Arabidopsis, a detailed insight is still necessary. In this study, by using RNAi transgenic rice, we further demonstrate that NOA1 functions in a temperature-dependent manner to regulate chlorophyll and Rubisco levels. When plants were grown at 30°C, the chlorophyll and Rubisco levels in OsNOA1-silenced plants were only slightly lower than those in WT. However, at 22°C, the silenced plants accumulated far less chlorophyll and Rubisco than WT. It was further revealed that the regulation of chlorophyll and Rubisco occurs at the anabolic level. Etiolated WT seedlings restored chlorophyll and Rubisco accumulations readily once returned to light, at either 30°C or 15°C. Etiolated OsNOA1-silenced plants accumulated chlorophyll and Rubisco to normal levels only at 30°C, and lost this ability at low temperature. On the other hand, de-etiolated OsNOA1-silenced seedlings maintained similar levels of chlorophyll and Rubisco as WT, even after being shifted to 15°C for various times. Further expression analyses identified several candidate genes, including OsPorA (NADPH: protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase A), OsrbcL (Rubisco large subunit), OsRALyase (Ribosomal RNA apurinic site specific lyase) and OsPuf4 (RNA-binding protein of the Puf family), which may be involved in OsNOA1-regulated chlorophyll biosynthesis and Rubisco formation. Overall, our results suggest OsNOA1 functions in a temperature-dependent manner to regulate chlorophyll biosynthesis, Rubisco formation and plastid development in rice

Identification and Analysis of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) Cascades in Fragaria vesca

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are highly conserved signaling modules in eukaryotes, including yeasts, plants and animals. MAPK cascades are responsible for protein phosphorylation during signal transduction events, and typically consist of three protein kinases: MAPK, MAPK kinase, and MAPK kinase kinase. In this current study, we identified a total of 12 FvMAPK, 7 FvMAPKK, 73 FvMAPKKK, and one FvMAPKKKK genes in the recently published Fragaria vesca genome sequence. This work reported the classification, annotation and phylogenetic evaluation of these genes and an assessment of conserved motifs and the expression profiling of members of the gene family were also analyzed here. The expression profiles of the MAPK and MAPKK genes in different organs and fruit developmental stages were further investigated using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Finally, the MAPK and MAPKK expression patterns in response to hormone and abiotic stresses (salt, drought, and high and low temperature) were investigated in fruit and leaves of F. vesca. The results provide a platform for further characterization of the physiological and biochemical functions of MAPK cascades in strawberry

Genome-Wide Organization and Expression Profiling of the SBP-Box Gene Family in Chinese Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.)

Transcription factors play vital roles in the developmental processes of plants. The SQUAMOSA promoter binding protein (SBP) genes encode a family of plant-specific transcription factors and plays many crucial roles in plant development. In this study, 16 SBP-box gene family members were identified in Ziziphus jujuba Mill. Dongzao (Dongzao), which were distributed over 8 chromosomes. They were classified into seven groups according to their phylogenetic relationships with other SBP-box gene families. Within each group, genes shared similar exon-intron structures and motif locations. The number of exons varied among the groups. We identified 12 homologous gene pairs between Dongzao and Arabidopsis. Expression profiling revealed that ZjSBP02 and ZjSBP14 expressed highly in mature fruits, ZjSBP01 expressed higher in mature leaves than other tissues and the expression level of ZjSBP12 was much higher in the flowers. The transcriptome analysis indicated that ZjSBPs had different expression patterns in various tissues. This study represents the first systematic analysis of the SBP-box gene family in Z. jujuba. The data presented here provides a foundation for understanding the crucial roles of ZjSBP genes in plant growth and development

Efficacy and safety of oropharyngeal muscle strength training on poststroke oropharyngeal dysphagia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives To investigate how oropharyngeal muscle strength training affected the safety and performance of swallowing in patients with poststroke oropharyngeal dysphagia.Design Systematic review and meta-analysis.Data sources Cochrane Central Register of Controlled of Trials, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase databases and ClinicalTrials.gov were systematically searched, for publications in English, from database inception to December 2022.Eligibility criteria Studies comparing the effect of oropharyngeal muscle strength training with conventional dysphagia therapy in patients with poststroke. Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) were assessed as the main outcomes.Data extraction and synthesis Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the included studies, with disagreements resolved by another researcher. The Cochrane risk-of-bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias. Review Manager V.5.3 was employed for the meta-analysis. Random effect models were used for meta-analysis.Results Seven studies with 259 participants were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that oropharyngeal muscle strength training could reduce PAS score compared with conventional dysphagia therapy (mean difference=−0.98, 95% CI −1.34 to −0.62, p<0.0001, I2=28%). The results also showed that oropharyngeal muscle strength training could increase FOIS score (mean difference=1.04, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.54, p<0.0001, I2=0%) and the vertical displacement of the hyoid bone (mean difference=0.20, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.38, p=0.04, I2=0%) compared with conventional dysphagia therapy.Conclusion In patients with poststroke oropharyngeal dysphagia, oropharyngeal muscle strength training can improve swallowing safety and performance.PROSPERO registration number CRD42022302471

Test and Analysis of Sludge Dewatering with a Vacuum Negative Pressure Load at the Bottom of Full Section

At present, the sludge production has increased sharply, and sludge treatment remains a serious problem. Rapid sludge dewatering is the key problem of sludge treatment, and the main approach for reducing the cost of the sludge treatment is to reduce the cost of sludge dewatering. In this paper, two groups of sludge dewatering tests were carried out using homemade instruments and equipment. One group was conducted without rice straw, and the other group was conducted with rice straw. The relevant mechanism was analyzed, and the results indicate that sludge dewatering with a vacuum negative pressure load of the full section at the bottom is better than mechanical sludge dewatering. The sludge dewatering effect with rice straw is better than that without rice straw. Additionally, the vacuum degree inside the sludge decreased sharply. The pore water pressure slowly dissipates during the early and late stages and quickly during the middle stage. Sludge pore water seepage does not obey Darcy’s law, and sludge dewatering is intermittent