The power of the CEO and environmental decoupling

This paper examines the impact of the power of the chief executive officer (CEO) on environmental decoupling. We define environmental decoupling as a gap between firm's claims about the environmental sustainability and actual environmental sustainability performance. Based on the managerial power theory, we argue that powerful managers are more involved in environmental decoupling and use environmental reporting in a more opportunistic manner than their less powerful peers. We analyse a dataset of 4576 firm-year observations of US-listed firms for the period 2002–2017. We find that powerful CEOs decouple firm's environmental performance from environmental reporting. These findings are robust to a battery of analyses and show that powerful CEOs do not show true commitment towards corporate environmental sustainability. The results provide important implications for investors, policymakers and fund managers. Useful future research recommendations are also provided to guide the research in the domain of environmental sustainability

Application of different cell populations in hydrogel bioinks for zonal Cartilage biofabrication

Functional regeneration of articular cartilage is still a major challenge in human. Bioprinting permits to mimic the complex architecture of articular cartilage, by coordinating the deposition of multiple cell types and materials, termed bioinks. For this purpose, cells with high potential for zonal differentiation need to be encapsulated in bioinks that provide an instructive niche for extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. The recent identification of multipotent articular cartilage chondroprogenitor cells (ACPCs) represents a new opportunity to generate bioinks with defined zonal affinity. The aim of this work was to print zonal constructs using hydrogel bioinks encapsulating ACPCs, alone or in combination with other cell types, obtained from equine donors. Gelatin methacryloyl (gelMA)-based inks were used to culture ACPCs, bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and chondrocytes (CHs) in casted gels. The expression of zonal markers and ECM molecules by each cell type was studied. Constructs composed of two adjacent regions, each containing a single cell type were also fabricated, as models for zonal co-culture of the possible MSCs, CHs, and ACPCs pairings. Finally, zonal constructs were printed using ACPC-laden gelMA as superficial zone-competent bioink, and a MSC-laden ink for the deeper zones, via bioink extrusion in a sacrificial poloxamer frame. The effect of printing on long-term cell performance was evaluated during 56 days of culture. GAG/DNA quantification, histological and qPCR analysis revealed that all cell types underwent chondrogenic differentiation in gelMA bioinks. Additionally, a differential expression of zonal markers was detected between MSCs and ACPCs, the latter significantly upregulating the superficial zone marker PRG4. Conversely, MSCs had higher expression of collagen type X, a marker for the calcified zone. Differential distribution of ECM molecules was preserved also in zonal co-cultures. These results pave the way to the biofabrication of multicellular, functional constructs with zone-mimicking composition to be used for cartilage regeneration or as in vitro tissue models

Super-Cationic Peptide Dendrimers¿Synthesis and Evaluation as Antimicrobial Agents

Microbial infections are a major public health concern. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been demonstrated to be a plausible alternative to the current arsenal of drugs that has become inefficient due to multidrug resistance. Herein we describe a new AMP family, namely the supercationic peptide dendrimers (SCPDs). Although all members of the series exert some antibacterial activity, we propose that special attention should be given to (KLK)2KLLKLL-NH2 (G1KLK-L2KL2), which shows selectivity for Gram-negative bacteria and virtually no cytotoxicity in HepG2 and HEK293. These results reinforce the validity of the SCPD family as a valuable class of AMP and support G1KLK-L2KL2 as a strong lead candidate for the future development of an antibacterial agent against Gram-negative bacteria

Be He@lthy - Be Mobile (A handbook on how to implement mAgeing)

The Be He@lthy, Be Mobile initiative is a global partnership led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), representing the United Nations agencies for health and information and communications technologies (ICTs). The initiative supports the scale up of mobile health technology (mHealth) within national health systems to help combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and support healthy ageing. Mobile health, or mHealth, is defined as "medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices” (1). The Be Healthy, Be Mobile initiative uses basic technologies common in most mobile phones. The BHBM initiative has overseen the development and implementation of several mHealth programmes, including mTobaccoCessation (2), mDiabetes, and mCervicalCancer. The mHealth programme-specific handbooks act as aids to policy-makers and implementers of national or large-scale mHealth programs. See Annex 1 for further information on the Be He@lthy, Be Mobile initiative. mHealth for Ageing, or mAgeing is a new programme under the initiative, the central objective of which is to assist older persons (a person whose age has passed the median life expectancy at birth) in maintaining functional ability and living as independently and healthily as possible through evidence-based self-management and self-care interventions. This handbook provides guidance for national programmes and organizations responsible for the care of older persons to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate an mAgeing programme. The text messaging communication provided uses evidence-based behaviour change techniques to help older persons prevent and manage early declines in intrinsic capacity and functional ability. The mAgeing programme is based on WHO’s Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE): Guidelines on community-level interventions to manage declines in intrinsic capacity (3) which include interventions to prevent declines in intrinsic capacity and functional abilities in older people, namely: mobility loss, malnutrition, visual impairment and hearing loss; as well as cognitive impairments and depressive symptoms. The messages are designed to encourage participation in activities, and to prevent, reduce, or even partly reverse, significant losses in capacity. The content of the mAgeing programme will complement routine care offered by health care professionals by supporting self-care and self-management. All content in this handbook is based on the WHO ICOPE Guidelines and other relevant WHO recommendations. The ICOPE Guideline recommendations were reached by the consensus of a guideline development group, convened by WHO, which based its decisions on a summary of systematic reviews of the best quality evidence most relevant to community-level care for older people, as well as the most up-to-date research on the effectiveness of mHealth

Mid- and far-infrared localized surface plasmon resonances in chalcogen-hyperdoped silicon

Plasmonic sensing in the infrared region employs the direct interaction of the vibrational fingerprints of molecules with the plasmonic resonances, creating surface-enhanced sensing platforms that are superior than the traditional spectroscopy. However, the standard noble metals used for plasmonic resonances suffer from high radiative losses as well as fabrication challenges, such as tuning the spectral resonance positions into mid- to far-infrared regions, and the compatibility issue with the existing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing platform. Here, we demonstrate the occurrence of mid-infrared localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) in thin Si films hyperdoped with the known deep-level impurity tellurium. We show that the mid-infrared LSPR can be further enhanced and spectrally extended to the far-infrared range by fabricating two-dimensional arrays of micrometer-sized antennas in a Te-hyperdoped Si chip. Since Te-hyperdoped Si can also work as an infrared photodetector, we believe that our results will unlock the route toward the direct integration of plasmonic sensors with the one-chip CMOS platform, greatly advancing the possibility of mass manufacturing of high-performance plasmonic sensing systems.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure

Spatial and temporal melt variability at Helheim Glacier, East Greenland, and its effect on ice dynamics

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from "http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com".[1] Understanding the behavior of large outlet glaciers draining the Greenland Ice Sheet is critical for assessing the impact of climate change on sea level rise. The flow of marine-terminating outlet glaciers is partly governed by calving-related processes taking place at the terminus but is also influenced by the drainage of surface runoff to the bed through moulins, cracks, and other pathways. To investigate the extent of the latter effect, we develop a distributed surface-energy-balance model for Helheim Glacier, East Greenland, to calculate surface melt and thereby estimate runoff. The model is driven by data from an automatic weather station operated on the glacier during the summers of 2007 and 2008, and calibrated with independent measurements of ablation. Modeled melt varies over the deployment period by as much as 68% relative to the mean, with melt rates approximately 77% higher on the lower reaches of the glacier trunk than on the upper glacier. We compare melt variations during the summer season to estimates of surface velocity derived from global positioning system surveys. Near the front of the glacier, there is a significant correlation (on >95% levels) between variations in runoff (estimated from surface melt) and variations in velocity, with a 1 day delay in velocity relative to melt. Although the velocity changes are small compared to accelerations previously observed following some calving events, our findings suggest that the flow speed of Helheim Glacier is sensitive to changes in runoff. The response is most significant in the heavily crevassed, fast-moving region near the calving front. The delay in the peak of the cross-correlation function implies a transit time of 12–36 h for surface runoff to reach the bed

Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Autoimmunity Due to Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Its Resolution With Antibiotic Therapy

Background:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) is a Gram-negative coccobacillus recognized as a pathogen in periodontitis and infective endocarditis. By producing a toxin (leukotoxin A, LtxA) that triggers global hypercitrullination in neutrophils, Aa has been recently linked to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis. Although mechanistic and clinical association studies implicate Aa infection in the initiation of autoimmunity in RA, direct evidence in humans is lacking.Case:We describe a 59-year-old man with anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA)-positive RA who presented for evaluation of refractory disease. He was found to have Aa endocarditis. Following antibiotic treatment, joint symptoms resolved and ACPAs normalized. Given the implications for RA immunopathogenesis, we further investigated the bacterial, genetic and immune factors that may have contributed to the patient's clinical and autoimmune phenotypes.Methods:DNA was extracted from serum and used to amplify the Aa leukotoxin (ltx) promoter region by PCR, which was further analyzed by Sanger sequencing. High-resolution identification of HLA alleles was performed by sequenced based typing (SBT). TNF-α, IFN-γ, GM-CSF, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-17A, IL-18, IL-21, and IL-22 were quantified in serum by a multiplex immunoassay. IgG and IgA antibodies to Aa LtxA were assayed by ELISA.Results:Aa genotyping confirmed infection with a highly leukotoxic strain carrying a 530-bp ltx promoter deletion, shown to result in 10- to 20-fold higher bacterial expression of LtxA. Immuno-phenotyping showed high anti-LtxA antibodies, elevated cytokines implicated in RA pathogenesis (Th1/Th17), and specific host susceptibility conferred by three HLA alleles strongly linked to ACPAs and RA (DRB1*04:04, DRB1*15:01, and DPB1*04:01). One year after eradication of Aa, the patient remained free of arthritis and anti-CCP antibodies.Conclusion: In the context of genetic risk for RA, systemic subacute infection with a leukotoxic strain of Aa can drive ACPA production and a clinical phenotype similar to RA

1,4,7-Triazacyclononane restores the activity of β-lactam antibiotics against metallo-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae : exploration of potential metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors

Metallo-β-lactamase (MBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae are of grave clinical concern, particularly as there are no metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors approved for clinical use. The discovery and development of MBL inhibitors to restore the efficacy of available β-lactams are thus imperative. We investigated a zinc-chelating moiety, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane (TACN), for its inhibitory activity against clinical carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. MICs, minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs), the serum effect, fractional inhibitory concentration indexes, and time-kill kinetics were determined using broth microdilution techniques according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CSLI) guidelines. Enzyme kinetic parameters and the cytotoxic effects of TACN were determined using spectrophotometric assays. The interactions of the enzyme-TACN complex were investigated by computational studies. Meropenem regained its activity against carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae, with the MIC decreasing from between 8 and 64 mg/liter to 0.03 mg/liter in the presence of TACN. The TACN-meropenem combination showed bactericidal effects with an MBC/MIC ratio of ≤4, and synergistic activity was observed. Human serum effects on the MICs were insignificant, and TACN was found to be noncytotoxic at concentrations above the MIC values. Computational studies predicted that TACN inhibits MBLs by targeting their catalytic active-site pockets. This was supported by its inhibition constant (Ki), which was 0.044 μM, and its inactivation constant (Kinact), which was 0.0406 min−1, demonstrating that TACN inhibits MBLs efficiently and holds promise as a potential inhibitor.The South African National Research Foundation (grant no. 85595 awarded to S. Y. Essack as incentive funding for rated researchers) and the College of Health Sciences, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal.http://aem.asm.org2019-08-01hj2019Medical Microbiolog