The impact of ICT, green finance, and CSR on sustainable financial performance: moderating role of perceived organizational support

Recently, the financial performance of the steel industry has faced several challenges due to a lack of focus on corporate social responsibilities (CSR), green finance, and information communication technology (ICT). Hence, this study investigates the impact of CSR, green finance, and ICT on the financial performance of the steel industry in China. The present research also investigates the moderating role of organizational support among CSR and firm performance and ICT and firm performance. We applied structural equation modeling to analyze the primary data of 290 employees collected from the employees of the steel industry in China. The findings indicated that CSR, green finance, and ICT have a positive and significant impact on the financial performance of this industry. The results also showed that organizational support significantly and positively moderates the interaction between CSR, ICT, and financial performance. These findings suggest that Chinese steel industries should adopt CSR practices and implement an ICT adoption strategy for better financial performance

CERKL regulates autophagy via the NAD-dependent deacetylase SIRT1

<p>Macroautophagy/autophagy is an important intracellular mechanism for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Here we show that the <i>CERKL</i> (ceramide kinase like) gene, a retinal degeneration (RD) pathogenic gene, plays a critical role in regulating autophagy by stabilizing SIRT1. <i>In vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>, suppressing CERKL results in impaired autophagy. SIRT1 is one of the main regulators of acetylation/deacetylation in autophagy. In CERKL-depleted retinas and cells, SIRT1 is downregulated. ATG5 and ATG7, 2 essential components of autophagy, show a higher degree of acetylation in CERKL-depleted cells. Overexpression of SIRT1 rescues autophagy in CERKL-depleted cells, whereas CERKL loses its function of regulating autophagy in SIRT1-depleted cells, and overexpression of CERKL upregulates SIRT1. Finally, we show that CERKL directly interacts with SIRT1, and may regulate its phosphorylation at Ser27 to stabilize SIRT1. These results show that CERKL is an important regulator of autophagy and it plays this role by stabilizing the deacetylase SIRT1.</p

Retinal degeneration in rpgra mutant zebrafish

Introduction: Pathogenic mutations in RPGRORF15, one of two major human RPGR isoforms, were responsible for most X-linked retinitis pigmentosa cases. Previous studies have shown that RPGR plays a critical role in ciliary protein transport. However, the precise mechanisms of disease triggered by RPGRORF15 mutations have yet to be clearly defined. There are two homologous genes in zebrafish, rpgra and rpgrb. Zebrafish rpgra has a single transcript homologous to human RPGRORF15; rpgrb has two major transcripts: rpgrbex1-17 and rpgrbORF15, similar to human RPGRex1-19 and RPGRORF15, respectively. rpgrb knockdown in zebrafish resulted in both abnormal development and increased cell death in the dysplastic retina. However, the impact of knocking down rpgra in zebrafish remains undetermined. Here, we constructed a rpgra mutant zebrafish model to investigate the retina defect and related molecular mechanism.Methods: we utilized transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) to generate a rpgra mutant zebrafish. Western blot was used to determine protein expression. RT-PCR was used to quantify gene transcription levels. The visual function of embryonic zebrafish was detected by electroretinography. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the pathological changes in the retina of mutant zebrafish and transmission electron microscope was employed to view subcellular structure of photoreceptor cells.Results: A homozygous rpgra mutant zebrafish with c.1675_1678delins21 mutation was successfully constructed. Despite the normal morphological development of the retina at 5 days post-fertilization, visual dysfunction was observed in the mutant zebrafish. Further histological and immunofluorescence assays indicated that rpgra mutant zebrafish retina photoreceptors progressively began to degenerate at 3-6 months. Additionally, the mislocalization of cone outer segment proteins (Opn1lw and Gnb3) and the accumulation of vacuole-like structures around the connecting cilium below the OSs were observed in mutant zebrafish. Furthermore, Rab8a, a key regulator of opsin-carrier vesicle trafficking, exhibited decreased expression and evident mislocalization in mutant zebrafish.Discussion: This study generated a novel rpgra mutant zebrafish model, which showed retinal degeneration. our data suggested Rpgra is necessary for the ciliary transport of cone-associated proteins, and further investigation is required to determine its function in rods. The rpgra mutant zebrafish constructed in this study may help us gain a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of retinal degeneration caused by RPGRORF15 mutation and find some useful treatment in the future

Ablation of EYS in zebrafish causes mislocalisation of outer segment proteins, F-actin disruption and cone-rod dystrophy

Mutations in EYS are associated with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) and autosomal recessive cone-rod dystrophy (arCRD) however, the function of EYS and the molecular mechanisms of how these mutations cause retinal degeneration are still unclear. Because EYS is absent in mouse and rat, and the structure of the retina differs substantially between humans and Drosophila, we utilised zebrafish as a model organism to study the function of EYS in the retina. We constructed an EYS-knockout zebrafish-line by TALEN technology which showed visual impairment at an early age, while the histological and immunofluorescence assays indicated the presence of progressive retinal degeneration with a cone predominately affected pattern. These phenotypes recapitulate the clinical manifestations of arCRD patients. Furthermore, the EYS(−/−) zebrafish also showed mislocalisation of certain outer segment proteins (rhodopsin, opn1lw, opn1sw1, GNB3 and PRPH2), and disruption of actin filaments in photoreceptors. Protein mislocalisation may, therefore, disrupt the function of cones and rods in these zebrafish and cause photoreceptor death. Collectively, these results point to a novel role for EYS in maintaining the morphological structure of F-actin and in protein transport, loss of this function might be the trigger for the resultant cellular events that ultimately lead to photoreceptor death

Nitrogen Forms Alter Triterpenoid Accumulation and Related Gene Expression in Cyclocarya paliurus (Batalin) Iljinsk. Seedlings

Cyclocarya paliurus (Batalin) Iljinsk. is a multiple function tree species distributed in subtropical areas, and its leaves have been used in medicine and nutraceutical foods in China. However, little information on the effects of nitrogen (N) forms and ratios on growth and secondary metabolite accumulation is available for C. paliurus. The impact of five NO3&minus;/NH4+ ratios on biomass production, triterpenoid accumulation and related gene expression in C. paliurus seedlings was evaluated at the middle N nutrition supply. Significant differences in seedling growth, triterpenoid accumulation and relative gene expression were observed among the different NO3&minus;/NH4+ ratio treatments. The highest triterpenoid content was achieved in a sole NO3&minus; or NH4+ nutrition, while the mixed N nutrition with equal ratio of NO3&minus; to NH4+ produced the highest biomass production in the seedlings. However, the highest triterpenoid accumulation was achieved at the treatment with the ratio of NO3&minus;/NH4+ = 2.33. Therefore, the mixed N nutrition of NO3&minus; and NH4+ was beneficial to the triterpenoid accumulation per plant. The relative expression of seven genes that are involved in triterpenoid biosynthesis were all up-regulated under the sole NH4+ or NO3&minus; nutrition conditions, and significantly positive correlations between triterpenoid content and relative gene expression of key enzymes were detected in the leaves. Our results indicated that NO3&minus; is the N nutrition preferred by C. paliurus, but the mixture of NO3&minus; and NH4+ at an appropriate ratio would improve the leaf triterpenoid yield per area