Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Performance: Does Financial Reporting Quality Matter?

This study aims to analyze the role of social responsibility in times of crisis, where the study examines whether the role of social responsibility in the corporate performance will depend on its interaction with other basic aspects of the corporate business environment. In the contemporary economic context, information environment considers important aspects of the business environment, therefore, it can be suggested that the impact of social responsibility on the company’s performance will be clearer when considering its interaction with financial reporting quality. To test this argument, data from the Saudi business environment for the year 2020 was collected to explore the relationship between social responsibility and the company’s financial performance during the Corona pandemic, and the role of the financial reporting quality in that relationship. The results were largely consistent with the general argument of the study, the results showed that social responsibility does not affect the financial performance, but the interaction between it and the financial reporting quality positively affects the financial performance of the company during the pandemic period. Therefore, financial reporting quality play a major role in the extent to which social responsibility affects performance. The results represent a motivation for the various parties in the business environment to pay attention to the general framework of the companys business aspects when analyzing performance

NGAL is downregulated in oral squamous cell carcinoma and leads to increased survival, proliferation, migration and chemoresistance

Oral cancer is a major public health burden worldwide. The lack of biomarkers for early diagnosis has increased the difficulty in managing this disease. Recent studies have reported that neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), a secreted glycoprotein, is upregulated in various tumors. In our study, we found that NGAL was significantly downregulated in primary malignant and metastatic tissues of oral cancer in comparison to normal tissues. The downregulation of NGAL was strongly correlated with both degree of differentiation and stage (I–IV); it can also serve as a prognostic biomarker for oral cancer. Additionally, tobacco carcinogens were found to be involved in the downregulation of NGAL. Mechanistic studies revealed that knockdown of NGAL increased oral cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration; it also induced resistance against cisplatin. Silencing of NGAL activated mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)signaling and reduced autophagy by the liver kinase B1 (LKB1)-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-p53-Redd1 signaling axis. Moreover, cyclin-D1, Bcl-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were upregulated, and caspase-9 was downregulated, suggesting that silencing of NGAL increases oral cancer cell proliferation, survival, and migration. Thus, from our study, it is evident that downregulation of NGAL activates the mTOR pathway and helps in the progression of oral cancer

Mutual Relationships: Saudi Universities and The Private Sector for Economic Development

The purpose of this research is to determine the level of the mutual relationship between Saudi universities and the private sector to achieve Economic development in light of the Kingdoms 2030 vision. The researcher relied heavily on the questionnaire as the primary instrument for data collection for the study, employing a descriptive research design and a quantitative methodology in order to accomplish the goals of the study. The investigation was carried out with a sample size of 180 universities leaders in the southern region of Saudi Arabia, all of them were chosen at random. The findings of this study indicated that leaders had high expectations for a mutual relationship between Saudi universities and the private sector. In addition, the findings demonstrated that there are no statistically significant variations in the mutual relationship between Saudi universities and the private sector with regard to the variables of academic rank, and years of experience

Shear stress mediated scrolling of graphene oxide

© 2018 Elsevier. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This author accepted manuscript is made available following 24 month embargo from date of publication (May 2018) in accordance with the publisher’s archiving policyGraphene oxide scrolls (GOS) are fabricated in high yield from a colloidal suspension of graphene oxide (GO) sheets under shear stress in a vortex fluidic device (VFD) while irradiated with a pulsed laser operating at 1064 nm and 250 mJ. This is in the absence of any other reagents with the structure of the GOS established using powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy

Bactericidal activity of biosynthesized silver nanoparticles against human pathogenic bacteria

Green synthesis is an attractive and eco-friendly approach to generate potent antibacterial silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). Such particles have long been used to fight bacteria and represent a promising tool to overcome the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In this study, green synthesis of Ag-NPs was attempted using plant extracts of Aloe vera, Portulaca oleracea and Cynodon dactylon. The identity and size of Ag-NPs was characterized by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer and scanning electron microscopy. Monodispersed Ag-NPs were produced with a range of different sizes based on the plant extract used. The bactericidal activity of Ag-NPs against a number of human pathogenic bacteria was determined using the disc diffusion method. The results showed that Gram positive bacteria were more susceptible than Gram negative ones to these antibacterial agents. The minimum inhibitory concentration was determined using the 96-well plate method. Finally, the mechanism by which Ag-NPs affect bacteria was investigated by SEM analysis. Bacteria treated with Ag-NPs were seen to undergo shrinkage and to lose their viability. This study provides evidence for a cheap and effective method for synthesizing potent bactericidal Ag-NPs and demonstrates their effectiveness against human pathogenic bacteria

Influence of Adiposity-Related Genetic Markers in a Population of Saudi Arabians Where Other Variables Influencing Obesity May Be Reduced

Large scale studies in Europeans have clearly identified common polymorphism affecting BMI and obesity. We undertook a genotype study to examine the impact of variants, known to influence obesity, in a sample from the Saudi Arabian population, notable for its profound combination of low mean physical activity indices and high energy intake. Anthropometry measures and genotypes were obtained for 367 Saudis, taken from King Saud University and Biomarker Screening Project in Riyadh (Riyadh Cohort). We observed large effect sizes with obesity for rs10767664 (BDNF) (OR = 1.923, P=0.00072) and rs3751812 (FTO) (OR = 1.523, P=0.016) in our sample and, using weighted genetic risk scores, we found strong evidence of a cumulative effect using 11 SNPs taken predominantly from loci principally affecting appetite (OR = 2.57, P=0.00092). We used conditional analyses to discern which of our three highly correlated FTO SNPs were responsible for the observed signal, although we were unable to determine with confidence which best marked the causal site. Our analysis indicates that markers located in loci known to influence fat mass through increased appetite affect obesity in Saudi Arabians to an extent possibly greater than in Europeans. Larger scale studies will be necessary to obtain a precise comparison

Small-molecule inhibition of METTL3 as a strategy against myeloid leukaemia.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant internal RNA modification1,2 that is catalysed predominantly by the METTL3-METTL14 methyltransferase complex3,4. The m6A methyltransferase METTL3 has been linked to the initiation and maintenance of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), but the potential of therapeutic applications targeting this enzyme remains unknown5-7. Here we present the identification and characterization of STM2457, a highly potent and selective first-in-class catalytic inhibitor of METTL3, and a crystal structure of STM2457 in complex with METTL3-METTL14. Treatment of tumours with STM2457 leads to reduced AML growth and an increase in differentiation and apoptosis. These cellular effects are accompanied by selective reduction of m6A levels on known leukaemogenic mRNAs and a decrease in their expression consistent with a translational defect. We demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of METTL3 in vivo leads to impaired engraftment and prolonged survival in various mouse models of AML, specifically targeting key stem cell subpopulations of AML. Collectively, these results reveal the inhibition of METTL3 as a potential therapeutic strategy against AML, and provide proof of concept that the targeting of RNA-modifying enzymes represents a promising avenue for anticancer therapy

Lysozyme as an alternative to antibiotics improves growth, antioxidants status, immunity, and intestinal bacteria in broiler chickens during the fattening period

The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of dietary lysozyme levels on the growth performance, hematological and blood biochemical parameters, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbial count in broiler chickens. Three-hundred 1 d old birds (Cobb-avian500) were used and divided into five groups (five replicates per group, 60 birds per replicate). Birds in the first group were fed a control diet, while birds in the second, third, fourth, and fifth groups were fed the control diet with 0.2 g lincomycin, 1 g commercial lysozyme, 25 mg chicken egg lysozyme, and 50 mg egg lysozyme per kg of diet, respectively. Results confirmed that, in comparison with the control diet, all supplements had greater impacts on final body weight and body weight gain, and only the egg lysozyme diet (50 mg kg−1 diet) increased feed intake. Lincomycin, commercial lysozyme, and egg lysozyme (25 mg) improved the feed conversion ratio (FCR). Birds fed commercial lysozyme and egg lysozymes showed significantly increased hemoglobin and red blood cell counts. All supplements reduced white blood cells, heterophils, and heterophils / lymphocytes ratio and increased lymphocytes. All supplements significantly increased serum total protein, albumin, globulin, and glucose. The diet of egg lysozyme (50 mg kg−1) significantly decreased alpha-globulin, alanine aminotransferase, triglycerides, cholesterol, and urea levels and increased high-density lipoproteins. Diets with lincomycin, commercial lysozyme, and egg lysozyme significantly increased antioxidant capacity and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA). The interferon-gamma (IFNγ) and interlukin-2 (IL-2) were significantly improved by lincomycin, commercial lysozyme and egg lysozyme diets, but interlukin-10 (IL-10) was significantly increased only by the egg lysozyme (50 mg kg−1) diet. The total bacterial count, Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Proteus counts were significantly decreased. Dressing rate and breast weight percentage were significantly increased by the egg lysozyme (50 mg kg−1) diet. Thigh weight percentage was increased only by the commercial lysozyme diet. In conclusion, chicken egg lysozyme (50 mg kg−1), a promising alternative for antibiotics in broiler chickens' diet, can enhance growth performance, antioxidant status, immunity, and intestinal bacteria.</p

Research trends in combinatorial optimization

Acknowledgments This work has been partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities through the project COGDRIVE (DPI2017-86915-C3-3-R). In this context, we would also like to thank the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Peer reviewedPublisher PD