The role of women on boards in corporate environmental strategy and financial performance: A global outlook

This study examines the impact of board gender diversity on corporate environmental strategy and financial performance. Based on 12 corporate environmental policies in 3389 firms worldwide, we identified four types of corporate environmental strategies by using the latent class regression model: an inactive strategy, a reactive strategy, a pollution prevention strategy and a sustainable development strategy. The empirical evidence shows that women on boards contribute to the promotion of proactive environmental strategies, including the pollution prevention strategy, which is found to bring about sustained competitive advantage in both short-term and long-term financial performance, and the sustainable development strategy, which is positively associated with long-term financial performance. Following the natural-resource-based view of the firm, these findings indicate that women on boards can be seen as a key resource in the organizational process, which provides a shared vision of the future and strong moral leadership to the top management team

Adsorption, Desorption, Surface Diffusion, Lattice Defect Formation, and Kink Incorporation Processes of Particles on Growth Interfaces of Colloidal Crystals with Attractive Interactions

Good model systems are required in order to understand crystal growth processes because, in many cases, precise incorporation processes of atoms or molecules cannot be visualized easily at the atomic or molecular level. Using a transmission-type optical microscope, we have successfully observed in situ adsorption, desorption, surface diffusion, lattice defect formation, and kink incorporation of particles on growth interfaces of colloidal crystals of polystyrene particles in aqueous sodium polyacrylate solutions. Precise surface transportation and kink incorporation processes of the particles into the colloidal crystals with attractive interactions were observed in situ at the particle level. In particular, contrary to the conventional expectations, the diffusion of particles along steps around a two-dimensional island of the growth interface was not the main route for kink incorporation. This is probably due to the number of bonds between adsorbed particles and particles in a crystal; the number exceeds the limit at which a particle easily exchanges its position to the adjacent one along the step. We also found novel desorption processes of particles from steps to terraces, attributing them to the assistance of attractive forces from additionally adsorbing particles to the particles on the steps

Do environmental, social, and governance activities improve corporate financial performance?

This study investigated the relationship between corporate efficiency and corporate sustainability to determine whether firms concerned about environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can also be efficient and profitable. We applied data envelopment analysis to estimate corporate efficiency and investigated the nonlinear relationship between corporate efficiency and ESG disclosure. Evidence shows that corporate transparency regarding ESG information has a positive association with corporate efficiency at the moderate disclosure level, rather than at the high or low disclosure level. Governance information disclosure has the strongest positive linkage with corporate efficiency, followed by social and environmental information disclosure. Moreover, we explored the relationship between particular ESG activities and corporate financial performance (CFP), including corporate efficiency, return on assets and market value. We found that most of the ESG activities reveal a non-negative relationship with CFP. These findings may provide evidence about voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy choices for enhancing corporate sustainability

High Level of Rheumatoid Factor is Associated with Hepatitis B Viremia in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

Hepatitis viruses are causative agents for chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. However these viruses are also associated with lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs), such as essential mixed cryoglobulinemia and B-cell non-Hodgkin\u27s lymphoma. Indeed, hepatitis C virus infection has been confirmed to be associated with LPDs, but the pathogenic mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and LPDs in 84 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CH-B). LPD markers, such as cryoglobulinemia, high levels of rheumatoid factor (RF), hypocomplementemia, and B cell clonality, were measured and analyzed along with viral factors. Results showed that high levels of RF were observed in 39.5% of patients with CH-B. These high RF levels were not associated with abnormal levels of other LPD markers, but only with the presence of HBV DNA in the sera of these patients. Undergoing therapy with nucleotide analogues was also associated with high RF. In two patients with CH-B, decreasing levels of RF were observed during antiviral therapy. In conclusion, high RF levels are associated with HBV viremia in patients with CH-B. HBV infection also plays an important role in the genesis of LPDs in patients with viral hepatitis

Persistence of Cryoglobulinemia in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C after Successful Treatment with Direct-acting Antivirals

Hepatitis C virus（HCV）infection can cause chronic liver disease; it has also been associated with lymphoproliferative disorders（LPDs）, such as cryoglobulinemia and B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Our previous studies suggested that cryoglobulinemia, high titer of rheumatoid factor（RF）, and hypocomplementemia are immunological markers of LPDs. In addition, recent therapies with direct-acting antivirals（DAAs）have achieved high rates of sustained virological response（SVR）in patients with chronic hepatitis C（CH-C）. This study analyzed the efficacy of DAA therapy in CH-C patients with cryoglobulinemia, and the association of biochemical and other immune markers for LPDs with persistence of cryoglobulinemia in patients after DAA therapy. Of 226 patients tested, 31（13.7％）had cryoglobulinemia prior to receiving DAAs, and these individuals showed lower complement 4 levels, decreased complement hemolytic activity, and higher IgM than patients without cryoglobulinemia. Of the 24 cryoglobulinemia-positive patients（83％）who could be followed for 24 weeks, 20 became cryoglobulinemia negative after the therapy. The remaining four patients retained the abnormal LPD markers, indicating the possibility of long-term LPD persistence even following successful eradication of HCV in CH-C patients. Thus, long-term follow-up is recommended to avoid exacerbation of extrahepatic manifestations as well as new events

Experimental Approach Reveals the Role of alx1 in the Evolution of the Echinoderm Larval Skeleton

AbstractOver the course of evolution, the acquisition of novel structures has ultimately led to wide variation in morphology among extant multicellular organisms. Thus, the origins of genetic systems for new morphological structures are a subject of great interest in evolutionary biology. The larval skeleton is a novel structure acquired in some echinoderm lineages via the activation of the adult skeletogenic machinery. Previously, VEGF signaling was suggested to have played an important role in the acquisition of the larval skeleton. In the present study, we compared expression patterns of Alx genes among echinoderm classes to further explore the factors involved in the acquisition of a larval skeleton. We found that the alx1 gene, originally described as crucial for sea urchin skeletogenesis, may have also played an essential role in the evolution of the larval skeleton. Unlike those echinoderms that have a larval skeleton, we found that alx1 of starfish was barely expressed in early larvae that have no skeleton. When alx1 overexpression was induced via injection of alx1 mRNA into starfish eggs, the expression patterns of certain genes, including those possibly involved in skeletogenesis, were altered. This suggested that a portion of the skeletogenic program was induced solely by alx1. However, we observed no obvious external phenotype or skeleton. We concluded that alx1 was necessary but not sufficient for the acquisition of the larval skeleton, which, in fact, requires several genetic events. Based on these results, we discuss how the larval expression of alx1 contributed to the acquisition of the larval skeleton in the putative ancestral lineage of echinoderms

The draft genomes of soft-shell turtle and green sea turtle yield insights into the development and evolution of the turtle-specific body plan

The unique anatomical features of turtles have raised unanswered questions about the origin of their unique body plan. We generated and analyzed draft genomes of the soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) and the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas); our results indicated the close relationship of the turtles to the bird-crocodilian lineage, from which they split ~267.9–248.3 million years ago (Upper Permian to Triassic). We also found extensive expansion of olfactory receptor genes in these turtles. Embryonic gene expression analysis identified an hourglass-like divergence of turtle and chicken embryogenesis, with maximal conservation around the vertebrate phylotypic period, rather than at later stages that show the amniote-common pattern. Wnt5a expression was found in the growth zone of the dorsal shell, supporting the possible co-option of limb-associated Wnt signaling in the acquisition of this turtle-specific novelty. Our results suggest that turtle evolution was accompanied by an unexpectedly conservative vertebrate phylotypic period, followed by turtle-specific repatterning of development to yield the novel structure of the shell

The Prognostic Value of Tumor-Infiltrating Neutrophils in Gastric Adenocarcinoma after Resection

Background: Several pieces of evidence indicate that tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TINs) are correlated to tumor progression. In the current study, we explore the relationship between TINs and clinicopathological features of gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Furthermore, we investigated the prognostic value of TINs. Patients and Methods: The study was comprised of two groups, training group (115 patients) and test group (97 patients). Biomarkers (intratumoral CD15+ neutrophils) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. The relationship between clinicopathological features and patient outcome were evaluated using Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Results: Immunohistochemical detection showed that the tumor-infiltrating neutrophils (TINs) in the training group ranged from 0.00–115.70 cells/high-power microscopic field (HPF) and the median number was 21.60 cells/HPF. Based on the median number, the patients were divided into high and low TINs groups. Chi-square test analysis revealed that the density of CD15+ TINs was positively associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.024), distance metastasis (p = 0.004) and UICC (International Union Against Cancer) staging (p = 0.028). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with a lower density of TINs had a better prognosis than patients with a higher density of TINs (p = 0.002). Multivariate Cox’s analysis showed that the density of CD15+ TINs was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of gastric adenocarcinoma patients. Using another 97 patients as a test group and basing on the median number of TINs (21.60 cells/HPF) coming from th

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field