Search Results (11)

The focal point of this research is to compare two of the largest global organizations’ sustainability indices and scores, namely Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSIs) and Standard & Poor’s Global (S&P Global) ESG scores (environmental, social, and governance), which rank companies based on their sustainability practices, and to learn if they correspond to each other. Considering that Germany is the hub of large companies from leading global industries, this research compares the ESG scores of the German companies that appear on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Several statistical analyses are conducted to determine if the German companies on the DJSIs correspond with high ESG scores. The years under consideration are 2018 through 2023. The results of this research indicate that DJSIs and ESG scores do not tell the same story and there are discrepancies regarding the sustainability practices of the studied companies that are added to the DJSIs and the assigned high ESG scores by S&P Global. Full article

In the inquisitorial archive of Pedro Onofre Cortés, alias Moixina, we see fellow practitioner protesting his son’s marriage to Clara Sureda because she was an Old Christian. The poor match was blamed on the breast milk that was ingested as an infant, “andaba con cristianos porque había mamado leche de una mujer cristiana” (he went with Christians because of the milk drunk milk from a Christian woman) (Picazo y Muntaner). In early modern Spain, breastmilk was seen as responsible for transmitting virtues and vices, religious expressions of faith and moral traits. Following Galenic medical understanding equating milk with blood, it was women who were responsible for the transmission of purity, impurity (Alexandre-Bidon 175), for contamination and difference (Martínez 47). This brief citation reflects the hybrid environment and the dual practices that deeply informed the lives of the converso Jews. Moreover, the understanding of the hereditary nature of these traits, and the traditions of Judaism and Christianity, so often mixed in unique combinations are clearly demonstrated in the Inquisition trials of Cortés and his Chueta brethren. As regulation over the mother and the female body became increasingly important in controlling Iberian subjects and its empire, conversos complicate the feminization of impurity. This article explores how the conversos known as the Chuetas of Mallorca understood their religiosity and difference as seen through the lens of hybridity, breast milk and maternal care. Full article

Positive Youth Development (PYD) emerged as a holistic and strength-based perspective that focuses on the fact that young people may have the internal and external resources for healthy and successful development through five dimensions (5Cs) that empower them: Perceived Competence, Confidence, Character, Connection, and Caring. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the overall PYD factor, the 5Cs, and risk behaviors, in addition to analyzing gender differences. This study showed the results of a cross-sectional study of 1044 emerging adults from 11 Spanish universities in 2021. Data collection was performed by applying an online self-report measure. The results showed that the Character was protective against substance abuse, mainly in women, while the connection was related to the participation of betting money and online betting in men. Caring was protective against money bets in the men’s sample. However, controversial results were found regarding Perceived competence, which had a positive association with substance abuse, money bets, and drunk driving. It seems that high levels of Perceived competence, rather than objective competence, were associated with engagement in various risk behaviors. Concerning gender differences, men showed more risky behaviors than women. A partial mediation model pointed out that lower character and higher perceived competence in men partly explained the higher presence of risky behavior compared to women. These results underline the need to promote PYD within the university context to prevent risky behaviors by addressing gender differences and the separate role of the 5Cs. Full article

In 1990 a publication by Pedro Calahorra reported a unique musical notation of a Salve on the walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo in Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza. The contributions offered in this article have enhanced research in this area through a revised study of this musical epigraphy. The analysis of the palaeography of notation reveals the dating of the work and, therefore, a possible collation with the Spanish polyphonic sources belonging to the white mensural notation, determining that it is the Salve Regina in four by Cristóbal de Morales. This study aims to recognize musical epigraphies as historiographic-musical sources of information capable of intervening in the reconstruction of a musical past, so they must be restored, preserved, catalogued and displayed like any historical document, regardless of their physical support. The Salve Regina written on the walls of the Villamayor de Gállego sanctuary is the witness of a Christian tradition of devotion to the Virgin Mary. Within the Rite of Salve this chant was the most popular in the Iberian Peninsula during the Renaissance. Full article

The VO²⁺/VO₂⁺ redox couple commonly employed on the positive terminal of the all-vanadium redox flow battery was investigated at various states of charge (SOC) and H₂SO₄ supporting electrolyte concentrations. Electron paramagnetic resonance was used to investigate the VO²⁺ concentration and translational and rotational diffusion coefficient (D_T, D_R) in both bulk solution and Nafion membranes. Values of D_T and D_R were relatively unaffected by SOC and on the order of 10⁻¹⁰ m²s⁻¹. Cyclic voltammetry measurements revealed that no significant changes to the redox mechanism were observed as the state of charge increased; however, the mechanism does appear to be affected by H₂SO₄ concentration. Electron transfer rate (k₀) increased by an order of magnitude (10⁻⁶ ms⁻¹ to 10⁻⁸ ms⁻¹) for each H₂SO₄ concentrations investigated (1, 3 and 5 M). Analysis of cyclic voltammetry switching currents suggests that the technique might be suitable for fast determination of state of charge if the system is well calibrated. Membrane uptake and permeability measurements show that vanadium absorption and crossover is more dependent on both acid and vanadium concentration than state of charge. Vanadium diffusion in the membrane is about an order of magnitude slower (~10⁻¹¹ m²s⁻¹) than in solution (~10⁻¹⁰ m²s⁻¹). Full article

Nickel is essential for the survival of many pathogenic bacteria. E. coli and H. pylori require nickel for [NiFe]-hydrogenases. H. pylori also requires nickel for urease. At high concentrations nickel can be toxic to the cell, therefore, nickel concentrations are tightly regulated. Metalloregulators help to maintain nickel concentration in the cell by regulating the expression of the genes associated with nickel import and export. Nickel import into the cell, delivery of nickel to target proteins, and export of nickel from the cell is a very intricate and well-choreographed process. The delivery of nickel to [NiFe]-hydrogenase and urease is complex and involves several chaperones and accessory proteins. A combination of biochemical, crystallographic, and spectroscopic techniques has been utilized to study the structures of these proteins, as well as protein–protein interactions resulting in an expansion of our knowledge regarding how these proteins sense and bind nickel. In this review, recent advances in the field will be discussed, focusing on the metal site structures of nickel bound to metalloregulators and chaperones. Full article

Quorum sensing (QS) antagonists have been proposed as novel therapeutic agents to combat bacterial infections. We previously reported that the secondary metabolite 3-methyl-N-(2′-phenylethyl)-butyramide, produced by a marine bacterium identified as Halobacillus salinus, inhibits QS controlled phenotypes in multiple Gram-negative reporter strains. Here we report that N-phenethyl hexanamide, a structurally-related compound produced by the marine bacterium Vibrio neptunius, similarly demonstrates QS inhibitory properties. To more fully explore structure–activity relationships within this new class of QS inhibitors, a panel of twenty analogs was synthesized and biologically evaluated. Several compounds were identified with increased attenuation of QS-regulated phenotypes, most notably N-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-phenylpropanamide against the marine pathogen Vibrio harveyi (IC₅₀ = 1.1 µM). These findings support the opportunity to further develop substituted phenethylamides as QS inhibitors. Full article

The effects of sulfuric acid concentration in VO²⁺ solutions were investigated via electrochemical methods and electron paramagnetic resonance. The viscosity of solutions containing 0.01 M VOSO₄ in 0.1–7.0 M H₂SO₄ was measured. Diffusion coefficients were independently measured via electrochemical methods and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), with excellent agreement between the techniques employed and literature values. Analysis of cyclic voltammograms suggest the oxidation of VO²⁺ to VO₂⁺ is quasi-reversible at high H₂SO₄ concentrations (>5 mol/L), and approaching irreversible at lower H₂SO₄ concentrations. Further analysis reveals a likely electrochemical/chemical (EC) mechanism where the H₂SO₄ facilitates the electrochemical step but hinders the chemical step. Fundamental insights of VO²⁺/H₂SO₄ solutions can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the concentration effects in electrolyte solutions. Full article

Glycation is associated with several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where it potentiates the aggregation and toxicity of proteins such as β-amyloid (Aβ). Published studies support the anti-glycation and neuroprotective effects of several polyphenol-rich fruits, including berries, which are rich in anthocyanins. Herein, blackberry, black raspberry, blueberry, cranberry, red raspberry, and strawberry extracts were evaluated for: (1) total phenolic and anthocyanins contents, (2) free radical (DPPH) scavenging and reactive carbonyl species (methylglyoxal; MGO) trapping, (3) anti-glycation (using BSA-fructose and BSA-MGO models), (4) anti-Aβ aggregation (using thermal- and MGO-induced fibrillation models), and, (5) murine microglia (BV-2) neuroprotective properties. Berry crude extracts (CE) were fractionated to yield anthocyanins-free (ACF) and anthocyanins-enriched (ACE) extracts. The berry ACEs (at 100 μg/mL) showed superior free radical scavenging, reactive carbonyl species trapping, and anti-glycation effects compared to their respective ACFs. The berry ACEs (at 100 μg/mL) inhibited both thermal- and MGO-induced Aβ fibrillation. In addition, the berry ACEs (at 20 μg/mL) reduced H₂O₂-induced reactive oxygen species production, and lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide species in BV-2 microglia as well as decreased H₂O₂-induced cytotoxicity and caspase-3/7 activity in BV-2 microglia. The free radical scavenging, reactive carbonyl trapping, anti-glycation, anti-Aβ fibrillation, and microglial neuroprotective effects of these berry extracts warrant further in vivo studies to evaluate their potential neuroprotective effects against AD. Full article

Traditional therapeutics to treat bacterial infections have given rise to multi-drug resistant pathogens, which pose a major threat to human and animal health. In several pathogens, quorum sensing (QS)—a cell-cell communication system in bacteria—controls the expression of genes responsible for pathogenesis, thus representing a novel target in the fight against bacterial infections. Based on the structure of the autoinducers responsible for QS activity and other QS inhibitors, we hypothesize that β-keto esters with aryl functionality could possess anti-QS activity. A panel of nineteen β-keto ester analogs was tested for the inhibition of bioluminescence (a QS-controlled phenotype) in the marine pathogen Vibrio harveyi. Initial screening demonstrated the need of a phenyl ring at the C-3 position for antagonistic activity. Further additions to the phenyl ring with 4-substituted halo groups or a 3- or 4-substituted methoxy group resulted in the most active compounds with IC₅₀ values ranging from 23 µM to 53 µM. The compounds additionally inhibit green fluorescent protein production by E. coli JB525. Evidence is presented that aryl β-keto esters may act as antagonists of bacterial quorum sensing by competing with N-acyl homoserine lactones for receptor binding. Expansion of the β-keto ester panel will enable us to obtain more insight into the structure–activity relationships needed to allow for the development of novel anti-virulence agents. Full article

Hookworm infection is chief among soil-transmitted helminthiases (STHs) for the chronic morbidly inflicted. Deworming via mass drug administration (MDA) programs most often employs single doses of benzimidazole drugs to which resistance is a constant threat. To discover new drugs, we employ a hamster model of hookworm infection with Ancylostoma ceylanicum and use albendazole (ABZ; 10 mg/kg orally) as the gold standard therapy. We previously showed that a single oral 100 mg/kg dose of the cathepsin cysteine protease (CP) inhibitor, K11777, offers near cure of infection that is associated with a 95% reduction in the parasite’s resident CP activity. We confirm these findings here and demonstrate that odanacatib (ODN), Merck’s cathepsin K inhibitor and post-clinical Phase III drug candidate for treatment of osteoporosis, decreases worm burden by 73% at the same dose with a 51% reduction in the parasite’s CP activity. Unlike K11777, ODN is a modest inhibitor of both mammalian cathepsin B and the predominant cathepsin B-like activity measureable in hookworm extracts. ODN’s somewhat unexpected efficacy, therefore, may be due to its excellent pharmacokinetic (PK) profile which allows for sustained plasma exposure and, possibly, sufficient perturbation of hookworm cathepsin B activity to be detrimental to survival. Accordingly, identifying a CP inhibitor(s) that combines the inhibition potency of K11777 and the PK attributes of ODN could lead to a drug that is effective at a lower dose. Achieving this would potentially provide an alternative or back-up to the current anti-hookworm drug, albendazole. Full article