Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India: A Review

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept, which states that Private Corporation or public organization has a responsibility to society. It minimizes the cost as well as risks thereby, increasing the brand value and reputation of the company. According to Bowen, “CSR refers to the obligations of businessmen to pursue those policies to make those decisions or to follow those lines of relations which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of our society.†The CSR activities need to be in tune with effective strategic policies so that the aim of sustainable environmental, social and economic progress may be achieved. Methodology: This paper is based on qualitative research design consisting of review of literature through secondary sources of data collection. The data has been examined through content analysis process from various books, newspaper articles and journals. This paper seeks to explain various initiatives taken in the field of CSR along with some key challenges

Exploring the Impact of Ketodeoxynonulosonic Acid in Host-Pathogen Interactions Using Uptake and Surface Display by Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae

Surface expression of the common vertebrate sialic acid (Sia) N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) by commensal and pathogenic microbes appears structurally to represent molecular mimicry of host sialoglycans, facilitating multiple mechanisms of host immune evasion. In contrast, ketodeoxynonulosonic acid (Kdn) is a more ancestral Sia also present in prokaryotic glycoconjugates that are structurally quite distinct from vertebrate sialoglycans. We detected human antibodies against Kdn-terminated glycans, and sialoglycan microarray studies found these anti-Kdn antibodies to be directed against Kdn-sialoglycans structurally similar to those on human cell surface Neu5Ac-sialoglycans. Anti-Kdn-glycan antibodies appear during infancy in a pattern similar to those generated following incorporation of the nonhuman Sia N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) onto the surface of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi), a human commensal and opportunistic pathogen. NTHi grown in the presence of free Kdn took up and incorporated the Sia into its lipooligosaccharide (LOS). Surface display of the Kdn within NTHi LOS blunted several virulence attributes of the pathogen, including Neu5Ac-mediated resistance to complement and whole blood killing, complement C3 deposition, IgM binding, and engagement of Siglec-9. Upper airway administration of Kdn reduced NTHi infection in human-like Cmah null (Neu5Gc-deficient) mice that express a Neu5Ac-rich sialome. We propose a mechanism for the induction of anti-Kdn antibodies in humans, suggesting that Kdn could be a natural and/or therapeutic Trojan horse that impairs colonization and virulence phenotypes of free Neu5Ac-assimilating human pathogens. IMPORTANCE All cells in vertebrates are coated with a dense array of glycans often capped with sugars called sialic acids. Sialic acids have many functions, including serving as a signal for recognition of self cells by the immune system, thereby guiding an appropriate immune response against foreign nonself and/or damaged cells. Several pathogenic bacteria have evolved mechanisms to cloak themselves with sialic acids and evade immune responses. Here we explore a type of sialic acid called Kdn (ketodeoxynonulosonic acid) that has not received much attention in the past and compare and contrast how it interacts with the immune system. Our results show potential for the use of Kdn as a natural intervention against pathogenic bacteria that take up and coat themselves with external sialic acid from the environment

Study on the color change of heat-treated wood caused by UV light : coating development

High temperature heat treatment of wood is an alternative to chemical treatment which is harmful to the environment as well as human health. The heat-treated woods have higher durability against biological attacks, higher dimensional stability, and higher thermal insulating capacity, and attractive dark brown color compared to conventionally oven-dried wood. Unfortunately, this dark brown color is not stable in outer environment and turns to grey or white if not protected. Especially sunlight (UV and visible light) and water (moisture or rain) are the two main components responsible for the discoloration of heattreated wood. Although numerous research studies are published which are devoted to understanding the degradation behavior of natural wood and their protection mechanism, few are reported on the discoloration of heat-treated wood and none is available on their protection mechanism. Commercially available coatings are usually highly pigmented and contain toxic compounds. This thesis focuses on the development of a transparent or semitransparent non toxic coating to prevent or delay discoloration and degradation of heat-treated wood. In this study, one soft wood species (jack pine) and two hard wood species (quaking aspen, white birch) are considered. This study has two parts. The first part is to study potential components of the transparent non toxic protective coatings. The second part involves the evaluation of these coatings. Several approaches are used for the first part. The first approach is based on the development of different organic and inorganic UV stabilizers and natural antioxidants (bark extracts, needle extracts, and even organosolv nano lignins). The second approach is the investigation of different inorganic micro and nano UV absorbers (micro and nano titania particles, ZnO nano particles, and CeO2 nano particles) alone or together with natural antioxidants. The third approach concerns with the investigation of different base polymers (sol-gel coating, soy based polymer coating, and acrylic polyurethane coatings) to be used with the above mentioned additives. In the second part, effectiveness of the coatings with different additives is examined and compared with that of an industrial coating commonly used. The results showed that the acrylic polyurethane with bark extracts and lignin stabilizer or with CeO2 nano particles alone or together with lignin stabilizer performed better than the industrial coatings considered during this study for the protection of heat-treated wood during accelerated aging. Up to date, there are no coatings available in the market developed especially for heat-treated woods. Therefore, this study gives an insight into the protection mechanism of heat-treated wood. The results indicate that highly toxic and pigmented industrial coatings could be replaced by the coatings developed during this study as they are more effective. Bark extracts, due to their high antioxidant properties, can be a potential additive for the wood coatings. A lot of research focuses on the inorganic UV absorbers; however, there exist one or two studies on CeO2 nano particles. This thesis will provide a pathway for the use of CeO2 nano particles in wood coatings. Therefore, the findings of this thesis constitute a major contribution to the wood coatings industry. Le traitement du bois à haute température est un alternatif au traitement chimique qui est néfaste pour l'environnement aussi bien que à la santé humaine. Le bois traité thermiquement a plus de durabilité face à l'attaque biologique, une plus haute stabilité dimensionnelle, une meilleure capacité d'isolation thermique et une couleur brun foncé plus attrayante que le bois séché dans le séchoir conventionnel. Malheureusement, cette couleur brun foncé n'est pas stable dans l'environnement externe et devient gris ou blanc si non protégée. Particulièrement les rayons du soleil (UV et lumière visible) et l'eau (humidité ou pluie) sont les deux facteurs principaux responsables de la décoloration du bois traité thermiquement. Bien que plusieurs études sur le bois naturel se soient penchées sur la compréhension de la dégradation et sur les mécanismes de protection, un nombre très limité d'études porte sur la décoloration du bois traité thermiquement et sur les approches potentielles de protection. Les revêtements disponibles commercialement sont hautement pigmentés et contiennent des composés toxiques. Cette thèse met l'emphase sur le développement des revêtements transparents ou semi-transparents non toxiques, pour empêcher ou retarder la décoloration ou la dégradation du bois traité thermiquement. Une espèce de bois mou (pin gris) et deux espèces de bois durs (peuplier faux tremble, bouleau blanc) ont été considérées dans cette étude. Cette étude est faite en deux parties. La première partie porte sur les composantes potentielles de revêtements protecteurs transparents non toxiques. La deuxième partie traite de l'évaluation de ces revêtements. Plusieurs démarches sont utilisées pour la première partie. La première est basée sur le développement de différents stabilisateurs UV organiques et inorganiques et antioxydants naturels. La deuxième façon est l'examen de différents micro et nano absorbeurs UV inorganiques (micro et nano particules de titane, nano particules de ZnO et CeO2), seuls ou avec des antioxydants naturels. La troisième approche concerne l'analyse des différents polymères de base utilisés avec les additifs mentionnés ci-dessus. L'efficacité des revêtements avec différents additifs a été examinée dans la deuxième partie et comparée à celle d'un revêtement industriel couramment utilisés. Les résultats démontrent que l'acrylique polyuréthane avec l'extrait d'écorce et le stabilisateur de la lignine ou avec les nano particules de CeO2 seul ou avec le stabilisateur de la lignine performent mieux que le revêtement industriel considéré lors de l'étude de la protection du bois traité thermiquement pendant le vieillissement accéléré. Jusqu'à présent, aucun revêtement développé spécialement pour le bois traité thermiquement n'est disponible sur le marché. Cette étude fournit donc un regard sur le mécanisme de protection du bois traité thermiquement. Les résultats indiquent que les revêtements industriels pigmentés et hautement toxiques peuvent être remplacés par des revêtements développés lors de cette étude parce qu'ils sont plus efficaces. Les extraits d'écorces, à cause de leurs propriétés hautement anti-oxydantes, peuvent être un additif potentiel pour le revêtement du bois. Bien que plusieurs recherches se concentrent sur l'absorbeur UV inorganique, il existe cependant une ou deux études sur les nano particules de CeO2. Cette thèse pave la voie à l'usage des nano particules de CeO2 dans le revêtement de bois. Par conséquent, les résultats de cette thèse constituent une contribution majeure pour l'industrie du revêtement de bois

Comparison of the protection effectiveness of acrylic polyurethane coatings containing bark extracts on three heat-treated North American wood species: Surface degradation

High temperature heat-treatment of wood is a very valuable technique which improves many properties (biological durability, dimensional stability, thermal insulating characteristics) of natural wood. Also it changes the natural color of wood to a very attractive dark brown color. Unfortunately, this color is not stable if left unprotected in external environment and turns to gray or white depending on the wood species. To overcome this problem, acrylic polyurethane coatings are applied on heat-treated wood to delay surface degradations (color change, loss of gloss, and chemical modifications) during aging. The acrylic polyurethane coatings which have high resistance against aging are further modified by adding bark extracts and/or lignin stabilizer to enhance their effectiveness in preventing the wood aging behavior. The aging characteristic of this coating is compared with acrylic polyurethane combined with commercially available organic UV stabilizers. In this study, their performance on three heat-treated North American wood species (jack pine, quaking aspen and white birch) are compared under accelerated aging conditions. Both the color change data and visual assessment indicate improvement in protective characteristic of acrylic polyurethane when bark extracts and lignin stabilizer are used in place of commercially available UV stabilizer. The results showed that although acrylic polyurethane with bark extracts and lignin stabilizer was more efficient compared to acrylic polyurethane with organic UV stabilizers in protecting heat-treated jack pine, it failed to protect heat-treated aspen and birch effectively after 672 h of accelerated aging. This degradation was not due to the coating adhesion loss or coating degradation during accelerated aging; rather, it was due to the significant degradation of heat-treated aspen and birch surface beneath this coating. The XPS results revealed formation of carbonyl photoproducts after aging on the coated surfaces and chain scission of C-N of urethane linkages

Enhancing exterior durability of jack pine by photo-stabilization of acrylic polyurethane coating using bark extract. Part 1: Effect of UV on color change and ATR–FT-IR analysis

Heat-treated wood is a value-added product but its exposure to various environmental factors leads to discoloration of wood surface due to the photochemical reactions. Discoloration has become an important economic problem for wood industries since product specifications are now more demanding. In addition, stricter environmental legislations necessitate the development of environmentally friendly transparent coatings with minimal use of chemicals which balances aesthetic and protection. In this study, the acrylic polyurethane coating was improved with the addition of natural antioxidant (bark extract) and lignin stabilizer alone or in combination to enhance the resistance of this coating to different weathering factors. An accelerated aging test was conducted with the aim of comparing the acrylic polyurethane coatings containing different additives with the commercially available pigmented solvent borne coating used by industry and organic UV absorbers. The modifications in chemical structure of coatings were characterized by ATR–FT-IR analysis. The color change data showed that the coating containing bark extract was the most effective and performed better than the industrial coating. However, the visual assessment showed that the coating containing bark extract and lignin stabilizer had the best performance. FT-IR analyses suggested that the chain scission reaction took place throughout the weathering but its effect was not significant for any of the coatings

Effect of titania and zinc oxide particles on acrylic polyurethane coating performance

The outer environment, especially UV portion of solar radiation and water (in the form of moisture or rain) has an adverse effect on the surface appearance of heat-treated wood. Exposure to UV triggers the chain scission reactions which change the intrinsic properties of heat-treated wood and discoloration of wood surface. Repeated temperature and humidity variations cause swelling and shrinking of wood surface, which consequently create cracks and fissures exposing wood's sub superficial layers to atmospheric agents. Therefore, wood industries move towards the development of coatings in order to protect the heat-treated wood while retaining wood's natural look. Water based acrylic polyurethane coatings are highly efficient, non toxic and durable coatings with upgraded film properties. In this study, an attempt is made to improve the performance of these coatings by incorporating natural antioxidant (bark extract) and inorganic UV absorbers (nano and micro titania and nano zinc oxide) into the coatings. The main objectives of this study are to investigate the wetting and penetration characteristic of these new coatings on the wood surface and to study coating thickness variation with weathering time. The Sessile-drop method and fluorescence microscope are used for this investigation. The wettability of different coatings applied to heat-treated jack pine early wood and late wood is compared. The results show that there is a significant difference between the contact angle of early wood and late wood for acrylic polyurethane coating containing titania micro particles. The contact angle between water and coated wood surface reveals that the degree of orientation of the coating materials increases as the weathering time increases. The penetration characteristics of all the four coatings are found to be very poor. In addition, the relationship between the coating thickness and the UV exposure time is studied for four water based acrylic polyurethane coatings with different additives. It is found that the coating thickness decreases with increasing weathering time and a tissue deformation beneath the coating surface takes place during weathering

Surface degradation of CeO2 stabilized acrylic polyurethane coated thermally treated jack pine during accelerated weathering

The thermally treated wood is a new value-added product and is very important for the diversification of forestry products. It drew the attention of consumers due to its attractive dark brown color. However, it loses its color when exposed to outside environment. Therefore, development of a protective coating for this value added product is necessary. In the present study, the efficiency of CeO2 nano particles alone or in combination with lignin stabilizer and/or bark extracts in acrylic polyurethane polymer was investigated by performing an accelerated weathering test. The color measurement results after accelerated weathering demonstrated that the coating containing CeO2 nano particles was the most effective whereas visual assessment suggested the coating containing CeO2 nano particles and lignin stabilizer as the most effective coating. The surface polarity changed for all the coatings during weathering and increase in contact angle after weathering suggested cross linking and reorientation of the polymer chain during weathering. The surface chemistry altered during weathering was evaluated by ATR-FTIR analysis. It suggested formation of different carbonyl byproducts during weathering. The chain scission reactions of the urethane linkages were not found to be significant during weathering

Effect of TiO2-containing nano-coatings on the color protection of heat-treated jack pine

The UV protective coatings were developed by incorporating triazine derivative organic UV stabilizers into inorganic titania particles which were produced by sol–gel method. The objective of this study is to delay the color change of heat-treated wood subjected to outdoor conditions. The protective coatings were prepared in air at room temperature. The coatings were not further treated thermally after their application to heat-sensitive materials. Coatings were applied to heat-treated jack pine wood. Subsequently, accelerated aging tests were carried out using coated and uncoated jack pine samples. The color change of the wood samples was studied, and the results were compared. Also, the morphological analyses were done using XPS after having weathered the wood at different times

Adult Opisthorchis viverrini Flukes in Humans, Takeo, Cambodia

(1). Sophisticated laboratory methods, although sensitive, are costly. The immunochromatographic strip test that uses recombinant K39 antigen (rK39), although satisfactory in India, is less sensitive in Africa, Latin America, and Mediterranean regions (2). Post–kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), a sequel to VL in India and Africa, is often confused with other skin diseases (3,4). Diagnosis of VL in dogs in Latin America and Mediterranean countries remains confusing because of rampant asymptomatic infections and elevated antibodies against Leishmania spp. (5)

Effectiveness of bark extracts and CeO2 nano particles as coating additives for the protection of heat-treated jack pine

High temperature heat-treatment of wood, which is value-added green product, is one of the alternatives to chemical treatment. It has better dimensional stability, thermal insulating properties and biological resistance compared to kiln dried wood. It also has dark brown color which is very important for decorative purposes. Unfortunately, this color changes during weathering. Developing a transparent and non-toxic coating for the protection of heat-treated wood against discoloration without changing its natural appearance is the main objective of this study. For this purpose, waterborne acrylic polyurethane base was chosen because of its durability against weathering and non-toxic nature. Natural antioxidants which are extracted from barks and CeO2 nano particles (alone or together with lignin stabilizer) were used as additives to develop different coatings. The protective characteristics of these coatings were compared with highly pigmented and toxic industrial coating under accelerated weathering conditions. The results showed that acrylic polyurethane coatings protected wood better compared to commercially available coating tested in this study. The chemical modifications during accelerated weathering of coated and heat-treated wood surfaces were monitored by XPS analysis and the morphological changes took place during weathering were studied by fluorescence microscope analysis