Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) and sustainable business performance: evidence from BRICS countries

Sustainable business performance is the major concern of every organisation globally and influenced by many factors that gained the attention of regulators and recent studies. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine the impact of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) on sustainable business performance in BRICS countries. These data were extracted from the financial statements and CSR reports of the top listed firms in BRICS countries. This study had adopted random effect model (REM) and generalised method of moments (GMM) to examine the nexus among the understudy variables. The results indicated that CSR have a positive association with the sustainable business performance in BRICS countries. These results are helpful for the policymakers while developing the policies related to the CSR and sustainable business performance

Analysis of risk factors of acute kidney injury in patients with severe acute pancreatitis

Objective To investigate the risk factors of acute kidney injury （AKI） in patients with severe acute pancreatitis （SAP）. Methods Clinical data of 66 patients with SAP were collected in this retrospective study. All patients were divided into the AKI and non-AKI groups according to whether they were complicated with AKI. The risk factors of AKI in patients with SAP were identified by using Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve. Results The overall age and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation （APACHE） Ⅱscore of SAP patients complicated with AKI were higher than those without AKI， but diabetes mellitus was more common in non-AKI patients （all P < 0.05）. Patients in the AKI group had higher levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein （CRP）， systemic inflammatory response index （SIRI）， creatinine （Scr）， CRP/Albumin （Alb） index and D-dimer （DDI） upon admission， whereas had lower fasting triglyceride and glucose simple index （TyG）， Alb， total cholesterol， high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） and blood calcium levels compared with their counterparts without AKI， and the differences were statistically significant （all P < 0.05）. Stepwise regression analysis showed that increased APACHEⅡ score， increased SIRI index， increased PLR index， decreased SII index and decreased blood calcium were the independent risk factors for SAP patients complicated with AKI （all P < 0.05）. ROC curve results showed that in addition to Scr， APACHEⅡ score， SIRI index and blood calcium had certain diagnostic value in SAP patients complicated with AKI， among which the area under the ROC curve （AUC） of APACHEⅡ score was 0.880 （95% CI 0.787-0.974， optimal cutoff value 11.50）， 0.662 （95% CI 0.521-0.804， optimal cutoff value 10.89） for SIRI index， and 0.754 （95% CI 0.627-0.881， optimal cutoff value 2.07 mmol/L） for blood calcium level （all P < 0.05）. The combination of the above three indexes with Scr could further improve the diagnostic value for AKI in SAP patients， among which the AUC of Scr + blood calcium was the largest， reaching 0.969 （95% CI 0.929-1.000， P < 0.05）. Conclusions APACHEⅡ score， SIRI index， PLR index， SII index and blood calcium level are the independent risk factors of AKI in SAP patients. APACHEⅡ score， SIRI index and blood calcium have diagnostic value in SAP patients complicated with AKI. The combination of these three indexes with Scr can significantly improve the diagnostic efficiency for AKI， providing a novel diagnostic approach for AKI in SAP patients

Chronic constant light exposure aggravates high fat diet-induced renal injury in rats

Obesity-related kidney disease is now recognized as a global health issue, with a substantial number of patients developing progressive renal failure and end-stage renal disease. Interestingly, recent studies indicate light pollution is a novel environmental risk factor for chronic kidney disease. However, the impact of light pollution on obesity-related kidney disease remains largely unknown, with its underlying mechanism insufficiently explained. Renal hypoxia induced factor 1α (HIF1α) is critical in the development of glomerulosclerosis and renal fibrosis. The present study explored effects of constant light exposure on high fat diet (HFD) -induced renal injury and its association with HIF1α signal pathway. Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups according to diet (HFD or normal chow diet) and light cycles (light/dark or constant light). After 16 weeks treatment, rats were sacrificed and pathophysiological assessments were performed. In normal chow fed rats, constant light exposure led to glucose abnormalities and dyslipidemia. In HFD fed rats, constant light exposure exacerbated obesity, glucose abnormalities, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, renal functional decline, proteinuria, glomerulomegaly, renal inflammation and fibrosis. And, constant light exposure caused an increase in HIF1α and a decrease in prolyl hydroxylase domain 1 (PHD1) and PHD2 expression in kidneys of HFD-fed rats. Then, we demonstrated that BMAL1 bound directly to the promoters of PHD1 in mouse podocyte clone 5 cell line (MPC5) by ChIP assays. In conclusion, chronic constant light exposure aggravates HFD-induced renal injuries in rats, and it is associated with activation of HIF1α signal pathway

Metformin alleviates hepatic iron overload and ferroptosis through AMPK-ferroportin pathway in HFD-induced NAFLD

Highlights Metformin alleviates HIO and ferroptosis in HFD-induced NAFLD FPN is involved in the molecular mechanism of metformin on HIO in HFD-induced NAFLD Metformin upregulates FPN expression by reducing lysosomal ubiquitination degradation Summary Metformin prevents progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the potential mechanism is not entirely understood. Ferroptosis, a recently recognized nonapoptotic form of regulated cell death, has been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. Here, we investigated the effects of metformin on ferroptosis and its potential mechanism in NAFLD. We found that metformin prevented the progression of NAFLD, and alleviated hepatic iron overload (HIO), ferroptosis and upregulated ferroportin (FPN) expression in vivo and in vitro. Mechanically, metformin reduced the lysosomal degradation pathway of FPN through activation AMPK, thus upregulated the expression of FPN protein, alleviated HIO and ferroptosis, and prevented progression of NAFLD. These findings discover a mechanism of metformin, suggesting that targeting FPN may have the therapeutic potential for treating NAFLD and related disorders

Constant Light Exposure Alters Gut Microbiota and Promotes the Progression of Steatohepatitis in High Fat Diet Rats

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) poses a significant health concern worldwide. With the progression of urbanization, light pollution may be a previously unrecognized risk factor for NAFLD/NASH development. However, the role of light pollution on NAFLD is insufficiently understood, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Interestingly, recent studies indicate the gut microbiota affects NAFLD/NASH development. Therefore, the present study explored effects of constant light exposure on NAFLD and its related microbiotic mechanisms. Material and method: Twenty-eight SD male rats were divided into four groups (n=7 each): rats fed a normal chow diet, and exposed to standard light-dark cycle (ND-LD); rats fed a normal chow diet, and exposed to constant light (ND-LL); rats fed a high fat diet, and exposed to standard light-dark cycle (HFD-LD); and rats on a high fat diet, and exposed to constant light (HFD-LL). Body weight, hepatic pathophysiology, gut microbiota, and short/medium chain fatty acids in colon contents, serum lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and liver LPS-binding protein (LBP) mRNA expression were documented post intervention and compared among groups. Result: In normal chow fed groups, rats exposed to constant light displayed glucose abnormalities and dyslipidemia. In HFD-fed rats, constant light exposure exacerbated glucose abnormalities, insulin resistance, inflammation and liver steatohepatitis. Constant light exposure altered composition of gut microbiota in both normal chow and HFD fed rats. Compared with HFD-LD group, HFD-LL rats displayed less Butyricicoccus, Clostridium and Turicibacter, butyrate levels in colon contents, decreased colon expression of occludin-1 and zonula occluden‐1 (ZO-1) , and increased serum LPS and liver LBP mRNA expression. Conclusion: Constant light exposure impacts gut microbiota and its metabolic products, impairs gut barrier function and gut-liver axis, promotes NAFLD/NASH progression in HFD rats

Chronic constant light exposure aggravates high fat diet-induced renal injury in rats

Obesity-related kidney disease is now recognized as a global health issue, with a substantial number of patients developing progressive renal failure and end-stage renal disease. Interestingly, recent studies indicate light pollution is a novel environmental risk factor for chronic kidney disease. However, the impact of light pollution on obesity-related kidney disease remains largely unknown, with its underlying mechanism insufficiently explained. Renal hypoxia induced factor 1α (HIF1α) is critical in the development of glomerulosclerosis and renal fibrosis. The present study explored effects of constant light exposure on high fat diet (HFD) -induced renal injury and its association with HIF1α signal pathway. Thirty-two male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups according to diet (HFD or normal chow diet) and light cycles (light/dark or constant light). After 16 weeks treatment, rats were sacrificed and pathophysiological assessments were performed. In normal chow fed rats, constant light exposure led to glucose abnormalities and dyslipidemia. In HFD fed rats, constant light exposure exacerbated obesity, glucose abnormalities, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, renal functional decline, proteinuria, glomerulomegaly, renal inflammation and fibrosis. And, constant light exposure caused an increase in HIF1α and a decrease in prolyl hydroxylase domain 1 (PHD1) and PHD2 expression in kidneys of HFD-fed rats. Then, we demonstrated that BMAL1 bound directly to the promoters of PHD1 in mouse podocyte clone 5 cell line (MPC5) by ChIP assays. In conclusion, chronic constant light exposure aggravates HFD-induced renal injuries in rats, and it is associated with activation of HIF1α signal pathway

Unusual Fermi Surface Sheet-Dependent Band Splitting in Sr2RuO4 Revealed by High Resolution Angle-Resolved Photoemission

High resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been carried out on Sr2RuO4. We observe clearly two sets of Fermi surface sheets near the (\pi,0)-(0,\pi) line which are most likely attributed to the surface and bulk Fermi surface splitting of the \beta band. This is in strong contrast to the nearly null surface and bulk Fermi surface splitting of the \alpha band although both have identical orbital components. Extensive band structure calculations are performed by considering various scenarios, including structural distortion, spin-orbit coupling and surface ferromagnetism. However, none of them can explain such a qualitative difference of the surface and bulk Fermi surface splitting between the \alpha and \beta sheets. This unusual behavior points to an unknown order on the surface of Sr2RuO4 that remains to be uncovered. Its revelation will be important for studying and utilizing novel quantum phenomena associated with the surface of Sr2RuO4 as a result of its being a possible p-wave chiral superconductor and a topological superconductor.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Distinct Fermi Surface Topology and Nodeless Superconducting Gap in (Tl0.58Rb0.42)Fe1.72Se2 Superconductor

High resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been carried out to study the electronic structure and superconducting gap of the (Tl$_{0.58}$Rb$_{0.42}$)Fe$_{1.72}$Se$_2$ superconductor with a T$_c$=32 K. The Fermi surface topology consists of two electron-like Fermi surface sheets around $\Gamma$ point which is distinct from that in all other iron-based compounds reported so far. The Fermi surface around the M point shows a nearly isotropic superconducting gap of $\sim$12 meV. The large Fermi surface near the $\Gamma$ point also shows a nearly isotropic superconducting gap of $\sim$15 meV while no superconducting gap opening is clearly observed for the inner tiny Fermi surface. Our observed new Fermi surface topology and its associated superconducting gap will provide key insights and constraints in understanding superconductivity mechanism in the iron-based superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Effect of Cleaving Temperature on the Surface and Bulk Fermi Surface of Sr2RuO4 Investigated by High Resolution Angle-Resolved Photoemission

High resolution angle-resolved photoemission measurements are carried out to systematically investigate the effect of cleaving temperature on the electronic structure and Fermi surface of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. Different from previous reports that high cleaving temperature can suppress surface Fermi surface, we find that the surface Fermi surface remains obvious and strong in Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ cleaved at high temperature, even at room temperature. This indicates that cleaving temperature is not a key effective factor in suppressing the surface bands. On the other hand, in the aged surface of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ that is cleaved and held for a long time, the bulk bands can be enhanced. We have also carried out laser ARPES measurements on Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ by using vacuum ultra-violet laser (photon energy at 6.994 eV) and found an obvious enhancement of bulk bands even for samples cleaved at low temperature. These information are important in realizing an effective approach in manipulating and detecting the surface and bulk electronic structure of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$. In particular, the enhancement of bulk sensitivity, together with its super-high instrumental resolution of VUV laser ARPES, will be advantageous in investigating fine electronic structure and superconducting properties of Sr$_2$RuO$_4$ in the future

Extraction of Electron Self-Energy and Gap Function in the Superconducting State of Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 Superconductor via Laser-Based Angle-Resolved Photoemission

Super-high resolution laser-based angle-resolved photoemission measurements have been performed on a high temperature superconductor Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8. The band back-bending characteristic of the Bogoliubov-like quasiparticle dispersion is clearly revealed at low temperature in the superconducting state. This makes it possible for the first time to experimentally extract the complex electron self-energy and the complex gap function in the superconducting state. The resultant electron self-energy and gap function exhibit features at ~54 meV and ~40 meV, in addition to the superconducting gap-induced structure at lower binding energy and a broad featureless structure at higher binding energy. These information will provide key insight and constraints on the origin of electron pairing in high temperature superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure