Studies on energy transformation in the freshwater snail Pila globosa 1. Influence of feeding rate

The effects of eleven chosen feeding levels ranging from 0 to 198 mg damp dry (plant) Ceratophyllumlg live snail /day on the absorption, conversion and metabolism of the snail Pi/a globosa (of 1•9 g body weight) have been studied. Absorption rates increased from 3•0 to 21•0 mg dry food /g live snail/day in snails fed 3-4-28'8 mg dry food/ g live snail/day. In these snails, absorption efficiency decreased from 87•5 to 73•0 %

The Value of Social Capital for the Success of SPAC IPOs

This paper explores the role of social capital in contributing to the success of a new breed of organizations known as ‘blank check companies’ or special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that are set up solely to target and acquire listed companies as a fast-track route to gain listing status in the stock market. The paper is a case study of Pershing Square Holdings Ltd., St. Peter Port, UK (PSH), which launched SPAC IPOs (Initial Public Offerings), Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd., New York, NY, USA (PSTH), which succeeded in raising the largest capital from influential investors in 2020. Social capital theory is employed to provide theoretical structure for the analysis. Using annual reports, publicly available information on the internet, as well as social media platforms related to the company and its strategy, the authors critically analyse and highlight how the Tontine’s founder and his team utilized their structural, relational, and cognitive social capital to attract investors and gained recognition as the most successful SPAC IPO in the market in 2020. The authors found the ability to structure a SPAC IPO that departs from a typical SPAC, and the choice of timing to enter the SPAC market resulted in an over subscription and higher market valuation ratings of its IPO, as well as allowed the sponsor to be selective of its investors. This is the first study to address the significance of social capital at the individual and organizational level in creating value for SPAC IPOs. Potential investors can gain understanding and insights on the mechanics of SPAC IPOs and the importance of the founder’s social capital in ensuring successful investment. Successful SPAC IPOs will create interest in the marketplace and enhance the value of investment for investors and helped private companies to get listed faster

An examination of the relationship of governance structure and performance: Evidence from banking companies in Bangladesh

Corporate governance has become increasingly important in developed and developing countries just after a series of corporate scandals and failures in a number of countries. Corporate governance structure is often viewed as a means of corporate success despite prior studies reveal mixed, somewhere conflicting and ambiguous, and somewhere no relationship between governance structure and performance. This study empirically investigates the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance of listed banking companies in Bangladesh by using two multiple regression models. The study reveals that a good number of companies do not comply with the regulatory requirements indicating remarkable shortfall in corporate governance practice. The companies are run by the professional managers having no duality and no ownership interest for which they are compensated by high remuneration to curb agency conflict. Apart from some inconsistent relationship between some corporate variables, the corporate governance mechanisms do not appear to have significant relationship with financial performances. The findings reveal an insignificant negative impact or somewhere no impact of independent directors and non-independent non-executive directors on the level of performance that strongly support the concept that the managers are essentially worthy of trust and earn returns for the owners as claimed by stewardship theory. The study provides support for the view that while much emphasis on corporate governance mechanisms is necessary to safeguard the interest of stakeholders; corporate governance on its own, as a set of codes or standards for corporate conformance, cannot make a company successful. Companies need to balance corporate governance mechanisms with performance by adopting strategic decision and risk management with the efficient utilization of the organization’s resources

Multiplexed gene expression analysis of HLA class II-associated podoconiosis implicates chronic immune activation in its pathogenesis

Background Podoconiosis is a tropical lymphoedema of the leg resulting from barefoot exposure to irritant volcanic soils. Approximately 4 million people are affected, mainly in African highland regions. The pathogenesis of this neglected tropical disease is still largely unknown, although HLA class II (HLAII) polymorphisms are associated with the disease. Methods NanoString technology was used to assess expression of 579 immune-related genes in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded lymph node archival samples from podoconiosis patients and unaffected controls. Results Forty-eight genes were upregulated and 21 downregulated in podoconiosis samples compared with controls. Gene ontology analysis showed differentially expressed genes to be closely related to major histocompatibility complex protein, cytokine and TNF receptor binding genes. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed involvement of lymphocyte activation, adaptive immunity, cytokine signalling, antigen processing and the IL-12 pathways. Conclusions This exploratory study reports a multiplex gene expression analysis in podoconiosis and shows upregulation of pro-inflammatory transcripts compatible with the notion of local, chronic immune activation in this HLAII-associated disease. Implicated pathways will inform future research into podoconiosis immunopathogenesis

On sacred ground:the political performance of religious responsibility

Parts of this paper were presented at the 2013 Annual Conference of the British Association for South Asian Studies (BASAS); at a ‘Post-War Sri Lanka’ workshop at the London School of Economics; and at a workshop on Muslims in Sri Lanka held at the University of Edinburgh.April 2012: In Dambulla, a bustling market town built around a crossroads on the northern cusp of Sri Lanka's central province, a mosque was attacked by a procession of protestors led by the chief priest of the nearby Buddhist temple. Ostensibly the protest was against the presence of the mosque on the grounds that it had been built in an exclusively Buddhist ‘sacred area’. Beginning with an empirical account of the attack on the Dambulla mosque, this paper argues that the preservation of what is deemed to be ‘sacred’ in Sri Lanka provides an effective idiom through which certain religious figures can intelligibly articulate political claims whilst maintaining critical distance from the dirty world of ‘Politics’. Corollary to this, and drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork in Dambulla, the paper explores the various different meanings of politics locally: highlighting the interplay of everyday politicking and high-profile political performance.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)

The impact of corporate social responsibility disclosure on financial performance : evidence from the GCC Islamic banking sector.

This paper examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance for Islamic banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region over the period 2000–2014 by generating CSR-related data through disclosure analysis of the annual reports of the sampled banks. The findings of this study indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between CSR disclosure and the financial performance of Islamic banks in the GCC countries. The results also show a positive relationship between CSR disclosure and the future financial performance of GCC Islamic banks, potentially indicating that current CSR activities carried out by Islamic banks in the GCC could have a long-term impact on their financial performance. Furthermore, despite demonstrating a significant positive relationship between the composite measure of the CSR disclosure index and financial performance, the findings show no statistically significant relationship between the individual dimensions of the CSR disclosure index and the current financial performance measure except for ‘mission and vision’ and ‘products and services’. Similarly, the empirical results detect a positive significant association only between ‘mission and vision’ dimension and future financial performance of the examined banks

Development of a quality indicator set to measure and improve quality of ICU care in low- and middle-income countries

PURPOSE: To develop a set of actionable quality indicators for critical care suitable for use in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). METHODS: A list of 84 candidate indicators compiled from a previous literature review and stakeholder recommendations were categorised into three domains (foundation, process, and quality impact). An expert panel (EP) representing stakeholders from critical care and allied specialties in multiple low-, middle-, and high-income countries was convened. In rounds one and two of the Delphi exercise, the EP appraised (Likert scale 1–5) each indicator for validity, feasibility; in round three sensitivity to change, and reliability were additionally appraised. Potential barriers and facilitators to implementation of the quality indicators were also reported in this round. Median score and interquartile range (IQR) were used to determine consensus; indicators with consensus disagreement (median < 4, IQR ≤ 1) were removed, and indicators with consensus agreement (median ≥ 4, IQR ≤ 1) or no consensus were retained. In round four, indicators were prioritised based on their ability to impact cost of care to the provider and recipient, staff well-being, patient safety, and patient-centred outcomes. RESULTS: Seventy-one experts from 30 countries (n = 45, 63%, representing critical care) selected 57 indicators to assess quality of care in intensive care unit (ICU) in LMICs: 16 foundation, 27 process, and 14 quality impact indicators after round three. Round 4 resulted in 14 prioritised indicators. Fifty-seven respondents reported barriers and facilitators, of which electronic registry-embedded data collection was the biggest perceived facilitator to implementation (n = 54/57, 95%) Concerns over burden of data collection (n = 53/57, 93%) and variations in definition (n = 45/57, 79%) were perceived as the greatest barrier to implementation. CONCLUSION: This consensus exercise provides a common set of indicators to support benchmarking and quality improvement programs for critical care populations in LMICs

Tumour stromal cells derived from paediatric malignancies display MSC-like properties and impair NK cell cytotoxicity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tumour growth and metastatic infiltration are favoured by several components of the tumour microenvironment. Bone marrow-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are known to contribute to the tumour stroma. When isolated from healthy bone marrow, MSC exert potent antiproliferative effects on immune effector cells. Due to phenotypic and morphological similarities of MSC and tumour stromal cells (TStrC), we speculated that immunotherapeutic approaches may be hampered if TStrC may still exhibit immunomodulatory properties of MSC.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to compare immunomodulatory properties of MSC and tumour stromal cells (TStrC), we established and analyzed TStrC cultures from eleven paediatric tumours and MSC preparations from bone marrow aspirates. Immunophenotyping, proliferation assays and NK cell cytotoxicity assays were employed to address the issue.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>While TStrC differed from MSC in terms of plasticity, they shared surface expression of CD105, CD73 and other markers used for MSC characterization. Furthermore, TStrC displayed a strong antiproliferative effect on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in coculture experiments similar to MSC. NK cell cytotoxicity was significantly impaired after co-culture with TStrC and expression of the activating NK cell receptors NKp44 and NKp46 was reduced.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data show that TStrC and MSC share important phenotypic and functional characteristics. The inhibitory effect of TStrC on PBMC and especially on NK cells may facilitate the immune evasion of paediatric tumours.</p