La responsabilidad social corporativa en las empresas agroalimentarias: un análisis de su divulgación mediante informes de sostenibilidad

Las empresas agroalimentarias son consideradas industrias medioambientalmente sensibles, adquiriendo cada vez más relevancia la divulgación de información sobre el impacto de sus actividades en términos de sostenibilidad. Este estudio analiza el nivel de divulgación de la información sobre sostenibilidad divulgada por empresas del sector agroalimentario español. Para ello, se realiza un análisis de contenido de informes de sostenibilidad publicados por empresas pertenecientes al sector agroalimentario de acuerdo con los estándares exigidos tras la implementación de la Ley 11/2018, transposición española de la Directiva 2014/95/EU, es decir, en los años 2018 o 2019. Los resultados indican que las empresas tienen dificultades (o poco interés) en divulgar información sobre Bloques como el de Medioambiente, Derechos Humanos, y Anticorrupción y Soborno. Además, se obtienen mejores resultados en el nivel de divulgación para aquellos Bloques que representan información más laxa, como la incluida en Comunidades Locales Sociales, y Empleados. Esto lleva a cuestionar el nivel de divulgación del sector agroalimentario español, pese a la elevada la influencia, en la conformación de las preferencias ciudadanas, del conocimiento sobre prácticas sostenibles. Así, las empresas deben comenzar a preocuparse no solo por divulgar, como exige la mencionada Directiva, sino también porque la información divulgada sea completa y de calidad

A multifactorial anti-cachectic approach for cancer cachexia in a rat model undergoing chemotherapy

Background: The effectiveness of drugs aimed at counteracting cancer cachexia is generally tested in pre-clinical rodent models, where only the tumour-induced alterations are taken into account, excluding the co-presence of anti-tumour molecules that could worsen the scenario and/or interfere with the treatment. Methods: The aim of the present investigation has been to assess the efficacy of a multifactorial treatment, including formoterol and megestrol acetate, in cachectic tumour-bearing rats (Yoshida AH-130, a highly cachectic tumour) undergoing chemotherapy (sorafenib). Results: Treatment of cachectic tumour-bearing rats with sorafenib (90 mg/kg) causes an important decrease in tumour cell content due to both reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. As a consequence, animal survival significantly improves, while cachexia occurrence persists. Multi-factorial treatment using both formoterol and megestrol acetate is highly effective in preventing muscle wasting and has more powerful effects than the single formoterol administration. In addition, both physical activity and grip strength are significantly improved as compared with the untreated tumour-bearing animals. The effects of the multi-factorial treatment include increased food intake (likely due to megestrol acetate) and decreased protein degradation, as shown by the reduced expression of genes associated with both proteasome and calpain proteolytic systems. Conclusions: The combination of the two drugs proved to be a promising strategy for treating cancer cachexia in a pre-clinical setting that better resembles the human condition, thus providing a strong rationale for the use of such combination in clinical trials involving cachectic cancer patients

Impact of Topology Framework of Microporous Solids on Methanol Carbonylation: An Operando DRIFTS-MS Study

Methanol carbonylation was evaluated over heterogeneous catalysts based on Cu-exchanged zeolitic materials with different topology: Cu@MOR, Cu@FER, and Cu@ZSM-5. Despite the similar Si/Al ratios, it is crucial to acknowledge that the acid strength is influenced by the framework topology, as supported by the NH3-TPD results. This, along with other characterization techniques allowed us to estimate the impact of pore size and pore distribution in these microporous materials on catalytic performance. The channel structure influenced catalytic parameters such as conversion and selectivity. The higher methanol conversion achieved on Cu@FER shows the importance of Brønsted acid sites and redox centres location regarding the topology of the material. Concerning the selectivity, the production of acetic acid was endorsed by the 12-MR (MOR) channels, methyl acetate's production by the 10-MR (FER) channels. Finally, the presence of 6-MR (ZSM-5) channels led to a complete selectivity towards DME production. The reaction mechanism was elucidated via operando DRIFTS-MS and results revealed a bifunctional mechanism in which methanol adsorbs and dehydrates on acidic Brønsted sites and CO is activated over Cu+ species.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2021-126876OB-I00Universidad de Sevilla MZAMBRANO-2021-19

A multifactorial anti-cachectic approach for cancer cachexia in a rat model undergoing chemotherapy

Background: The effectiveness of drugs aimed at counteracting cancer cachexia is generally tested in pre-clinical rodent models, where only the tumour-induced alterations are taken into account, excluding the co-presence of anti-tumour molecules that could worsen the scenario and/or interfere with the treatment. Methods: The aim of the present investigation has been to assess the efficacy of a multifactorial treatment, including formoterol and megestrol acetate, in cachectic tumour-bearing rats (Yoshida AH-130, a highly cachectic tumour) undergoing chemotherapy (sorafenib). Results: Treatment of cachectic tumour-bearing rats with sorafenib (90 mg/kg) causes an important decrease in tumour cell content due to both reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. As a consequence, animal survival significantly improves, while cachexia occurrence persists. Multi-factorial treatment using both formoterol and megestrol acetate is highly effective in preventing muscle wasting and has more powerful effects than the single formoterol administration. In addition, both physical activity and grip strength are significantly improved as compared with the untreated tumour-bearing animals. The effects of the multi-factorial treatment include increased food intake (likely due to megestrol acetate) and decreased protein degradation, as shown by the reduced expression of genes associated with both proteasome and calpain proteolytic systems. Conclusions: The combination of the two drugs proved to be a promising strategy for treating cancer cachexia in a pre-clinical setting that better resembles the human condition, thus providing a strong rationale for the use of such combination in clinical trials involving cachectic cancer patients

A multifactorial anti-cachectic approach for cancer cachexia in a rat model undergoing chemotherapy

Background: The effectiveness of drugs aimed at counteracting cancer cachexia is generally tested in pre-clinical rodent models, where only the tumour-induced alterations are taken into account, excluding the co-presence of anti-tumour molecules that could worsen the scenario and/or interfere with the treatment. Methods: The aim of the present investigation has been to assess the efficacy of a multifactorial treatment, including formoterol and megestrol acetate, in cachectic tumour-bearing rats (Yoshida AH-130, a highly cachectic tumour) undergoing chemotherapy (sorafenib). Results: Treatment of cachectic tumour-bearing rats with sorafenib (90 mg/kg) causes an important decrease in tumour cell content due to both reduced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. As a consequence, animal survival significantly improves, while cachexia occurrence persists. Multi-factorial treatment using both formoterol and megestrol acetate is highly effective in preventing muscle wasting and has more powerful effects than the single formoterol administration. In addition, both physical activity and grip strength are significantly improved as compared with the untreated tumour-bearing animals. The effects of the multi-factorial treatment include increased food intake (likely due to megestrol acetate) and decreased protein degradation, as shown by the reduced expression of genes associated with both proteasome and calpain proteolytic systems. Conclusions: The combination of the two drugs proved to be a promising strategy for treating cancer cachexia in a pre-clinical setting that better resembles the human condition, thus providing a strong rationale for the use of such combination in clinical trials involving cachectic cancer patients