Gender diversity on boards: Determinants that underlie the proposals for female directors

[Abstract] Although the gender composition of corporate boards and the contribution of female directors to corporate governance have been previously analysed, few studies have investigated the factors that may help contribute to increasing the still scarce presence of women on boards. Therefore, using three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimation on a data panel comprising the 100 largest companies in the world according to the 2019 Fortune Global 500 ranking, including data on (re)election proposals for corporate board members, this research aims to analyse the influence of the number of men's nominations, board interlocks, director tenure, geographical area, the sector to which the firms belong, and the relevance of firms on women's nominations for boards of directors. The results show the factors that facilitate the presence of women on boards. In addition, the different influences that remain in the election of female and male directors when considering factors related to the experience, expertise, and networks of directors or the visibility of firms can also be observed. This study contributes to the knowledge of gender diversity on boards, shedding light on the factors that might lead to gender-balanced boards. It could also help companies and policymakers design strategies to build more egalitarian boards

Publicidad Y Educación Sanitaria

ResumenLa educación sanitaria y la publicidad tienen un objetivo común: influir en la conducta humana. La educación sanitaria trata de inducir conductas saludables. La publicidad, en ocasiones, propugna conductas de riesgo. Se analizan aquí los anuncios insertados en las 15 revistas de máxima tirada en España durante dos meses. En total 1.726 anuncios que podrian afectar negativamente a la salud, por el producto o servicio ofertados, o por utilizar la salud como argumento persuasivo en sus textos.Hola y Lecturas tuvieron la tasa más alta de anuncios/revista. Las bebidas alcohólicas, los alimentos y los fármacos fueron los objetos más publicitados. Y más del 50% de los anuncios argumentaron directamente con la salud o el bienestar en sus textos.Los educadores sanitarios deberían conocer y enseñar el análisis critico de la publicidad, y utilizar los anuncios como instrumento didáctico, para lograr ciudadanos capaces de distanciarse y defenderse del influjo publicitario.SummaryHealth education and advertising have a common aim: to modify human behaviour. Health education tries to induce healthy behaviours. In some occasions Publicity proposes risky behaviours.Ads appearing during a two-month period in magazines of the largest circulation in Spain are analyzed here. A total of 1,726 ads which could have a negative influence on health either because of the product or service offered or for the use of health as a persuasive argument in their text, are considered.The magazines Hola and Lecturas had the highest ratio ads/magazine. Spirits, food and drugs were the most frequently advertised products. And more than 50% of the ads used health and welfare as argument for better selling.Health educators should know and teach the critical analysis of publicity, and use advertisements as a teaching tool to enable people to see through misleading advertising

Capillary liquid-chromatography-ion trap-mass spectrometry methodology for the simultaneous quantification of four angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitory peptides in Prunus seed hydrolysates

Prunus genus fruit seeds are sources of highly angiotensin-l-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptides. The presence of peptides IYSPH, IYTPH, IFSPR, and VAIP seems to be related to this activity but no previous work has demonstrated the direct relationship between the concentration of these peptides and the antihypertensive activity of hydrolysates. This work describes the development of a method for the quantification of these peptides in Prunus seeds hydrolysates based on capillary liquid chromatography-IT-MS/MS. The analytical characteristics of the method were evaluated through the study of the linearity, LOD, LOQ presence of matrix interferences, precision, and recovery. The developed methodology was applied to the determination of the four peptides in seed hydrolysates from different Prunus genus fruits: peaches (7 varieties), plums (2 varieties), nectarines (3 varieties), apricots (2 varieties), cherry, and paraguayo. Peaches and plums seed hydrolysates yielded the highest concentrations of these peptides while paraguayo one showed the lowest concentrations. A high correlation between peptides concentrations was demonstrated suggesting that the four peptides could be released from the same seed proteins

HPLC-Q-TOF-MS identification of antioxidant and antihypertensive peptides recovered from cherry (Prunus Cerasus L.) subproducts

The processing of fruits, such as cherries, is characterized by generating a lot of waste material such as fruit stones, skins, etc. To contribute to environmental sustainability, it is necessary to recover these residues. Cherry stones contain seeds with a significant amount of proteins that are underused and undervalued. The aim of this work was to extract cherry seed proteins, to evaluate the presence of bioactive peptides, and to identify them by mass spectrometry. The digestion of cherry seed proteins was optimized, and three different enzymes were employed: Alcalase, Thermolysin, and Flavourzyme. Peptide extracts obtained by the digestion of the cherry seed protein isolate with Alcalase and Thermolysin yielded the highest antioxidant and antihypertensive capacities. Ultrafiltration of hydrolysates allowed obtaining fractions with high antioxidant and antihypertensive capabilities. HPLC-Q-TOF-MS together with bioinformatics tools enabled one to identify peptides in these fractions

Depth of faulting and ancien theat flows in the Kuiper region of Mercury from lobate scarp topography

Mercurian lobate scarp sare interpreted to be the surface expressions of thrust faults formed by planetary cooling and contraction, which deformed the crust downto the brittle–ductile transition (BDT) dep that the time of faulting. In this work we have used a for ward modeling procedure in order to analyze the relation be tweens carptopography and fault geometrie sand dep thsas sociated with a group of prominent lobate scarps (Santa Maria Rupes and twoun named scarps) located inthe Kuiper region of Mercury for which Earth-based radar altimetry is available. Also aback thrust associated with one of the lobate scarps has been included in this study. We have obtained best fits for depthsof faul ting between 30 and 39 km; the results are consistent with the previous results for o ther lobate scarps on Mercury. The so-derived fault depths have been used to calculate surface heat flows for the time of faulting, taking into account crustal heat source sand a heterogeneous surface temperature due to the variable in solation pattern. Deduced surface heat flow sare be tween 19 and 39m Wm-2 for the Kuiper region, and between 22 and 43 mWm-2 for Discovery Rupes. Both BDT depth sand heat flows are consistent with the predictions of thermal history models for the range of time relevant for scarp formation

Stress compensation by gap monolayers for stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots solar cells

In this work we report the stacking of 10 and 50 InAs quantum dots layers using 2 monolayers of GaP for stress compensation and a stack period of 18 nm on GaAs (001) substrates. Very good structural and optical quality is found in both samples. Vertical alignment of the dots is observed by transmission electron microscopy suggesting the existence of residual stress around them. Photocurrent measurements show light absorption up to 1.2 μm in the nanostructures together with a reduction in the blue response of the device. As a result of the phosphorus incorporation in the barriers, a very high thermal activation energy (431 meV) has also been obtained for the quantum dot emission

On the impact of initial conditions in the forecast of Hurricane Leslie extratropical transition

Hurricane Leslie (2018) was a non-tropical system that lasted for a long time undergoing several transitions between tropical and extratropical states. Its trajectory was highly uncertain and difficult to predict. Here the extratropical transition of Leslie is simulated using the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) with two different sets of initial conditions (IC): the operational analysis of the Integrate Forecast System (IFS) and the Global Forecast System (GFS).This work was partially supported by the research project PID2019-105306RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033, and the two ECMWF Special Projects (SPESMART and SPESVALE)

Uso de los antisépticos en atención primaria

ResumenLas heridas se pueden clasificar, según el mecanismo de acción, en quirúrgicas o traumáticas (que pueden ser incisas, como las provocadas por un objeto cortante; contusas, causadas por un objeto romo; punzantes, provocadas por objetos afilados y largos; por desgarro, causadas por tracción de los tejidos; por mordedura, que tienen alto riesgo de infección, por lo que no se deben suturar) o, por la evolución del proceso de cicatrización, en agudas o crónicas (úlceras por presión, úlceras vasculares, úlceras neuropáticas, heridas agudas con tórpida evolución). El empleo de antisépticos en cualquiera de los casos suele estar limitado a la limpieza y cuidados iniciales (48–72h) y al lavado de manos e instrumental, y su uso en heridas crónicas o cronificadas es más discutible. En el caso de quemaduras sucede lo mismo, y es más recomendable el empleo de formulaciones que favorezcan la hidratación.En población pediátrica se suele recomendar el empleo de antisépticos con un perfil de seguridad conocido y baja absorción, especialmente en el caso del cuidado del cordón umbilical, donde la evidencia recomienda el empleo de gluconato de clorhexidina.Otro uso de los antisépticos es el cuidado de heridas producidas por la implantación de objetos dentro de la estética corporal (piercing y similares), siendo recomendable el empleo de antisépticos transparentes que permitan observar la evolución de la técnica.AbstractWounds can be classified according to their mechanism of action into surgical or traumatic (which may be incision wounds, such as those provoked by a sharp object; contusions, caused by a blunt force; puncture wounds, caused by long, sharp objects; lacerations, caused by tears to the tissue; or bites, which have a high risk of infection and consequently should not be sutured). Wounds can also be classified by their healing process into acute or chronic (pressure ulcers, vascular ulcers, neuropathic ulcers, acute wounds with torpid clinical course). The use of antiseptics in any of these wounds is usually limited to cleaning and initial care —up to 48 hours— and to washing of hands and instruments. The use of antiseptics in chronic or persistent wounds is more debatable. The same is true of burns, in which the use of formulations that encourage hydration is recommended.In the pediatric population, the use of antiseptics with a known safety profile and low absorption is usually recommended, especially in the care of the umbilical cord, in which evidence supports the use of chlorhexidine gluconate.Another use of antiseptics is the care of wounds produced by procedures used in body esthetics, such as piercings; in these procedures, it is advisable to use transparent antiseptics that allow visualization of the technique

Resistencia a biocidad en cepas de Salmonella SP. aisladas de huevo

Se ha estudiado la presencia de presuntas salmonelas en la superficie de huevos comerciales, y se ha determinado la sensibilidad a biocidas para la colección de cepas ensayadas. El porcentaje de muestras positivas osciló entre el 37% y el 43%. En algunas de las marcas comerciales analizadas no se logró aislar la bacteria en los huevos analizados, mientras que en los huevos de comercios pequeños o granjas se aisló en todas las muestras ensayadas. La mayoría de las cepas fueron inhibidas a una concentración del 0.1% de los biocidas cloruro de benzalconio, cetrimida, hexadecilpiridinio, hexaclorofeno, polihexametil biguanidio o P3 oxonia. Sin embargo, en algunos casos (cetrimida, polihexametil biguanidio o P3 oxonia ) se encontró un bajo porcentaje de cepas que requerían concentraciones de biocida de hasta diez veces superiores para su inhibición. El triclosan mostró una mayor eficacia, inhibiendo al 77% de las cepas a una concentración de 0.075%. Sin embargo, el resto de las cepas fueron muy tolerantes a este biocida, siendo necesaria una concentración del 1% para su inhibición. Los resultados de este estudio sugieren la existenciaWe have studied the presence of presumptive salmonellae in comercial eggs, and the biocide tolerance of isolates. Presumptive salmonellae were detected in some 37 to 43% of samples tested. Some comercial brands were free of the bacterium, but all eggs from local stores and farms tested positive. Most isolates were inhibited by 0.1% of the biocides benzalkonium chloride, cetrimide, hexadecylpyridinium chloride, hexachlorophene, polyhexamethylen biguanide and P3 oxonia. A small percentage of isolates required up to ten-fold higher biocide concentrations for inhibition (as in the case of cetrimide, polyhexamethylen biguanide and P3 oxonia). Triclosan was apparently more effective, inhibiting 77% of isolates at 0.075%. However, the remaining of isolates only were inhibited at 1% of the biocide. Results from this study suggest that a low percentage of the Salmonella population on egg surfaces can tolerate biocides

Sulfonate-terminated carbosilane dendron-coated nanotubes: a greener point of view in protein sample preparation

Reduction or removal of solvents and reagents in protein sample preparation is a requirement. Dendrimers can strongly interact with proteins and have great potential as a greener alternative to conventional methods used in protein sample preparation. This work proposes the use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) functionalized with carbosilane dendrons with sulfonate groups for protein sample preparation and shows the successful application of the proposed methodology to extract proteins from a complex matrix. SEM images of nanotubes and mixtures of nanotubes and proteins were taken. Moreover, intrinsic fluorescence intensity of proteins was monitored to observe the most significant interactions at increasing dendron generations under neutral and basic pHs. Different conditions for the disruption of interactions between proteins and nanotubes after protein extraction and different concentrations of the disrupting reagent and the nanotube were also tried. Compatibility of extraction and disrupting conditions with the enzymatic digestion of proteins for obtaining bioactive peptides was also studied. Finally, sulfonate-terminated carbosilane dendron-coated SWCNTs enabled the extraction of proteins from a complex sample without using non-environmentally friendly solvents that were required so far