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Social entrepreneurship has been recognized as a tool to attain sustainable development. This paper highlights the role of social entrepreneurship in triggering social change and attaining sustainable development. The paper contributes significantly to the existing literature by conducting a systematic review of extant works. To this end, we analyzed and reviewed 173 research papers from the Web of Science database. The results are presented in the form of descriptive findings and thematic discussion. The paper concludes by setting up the agenda for future researchers in the field.

Prematurely‐born infants cared for in the neonatal units suffer from memory and learning deficits. Prematurity diminishes neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG). This dysmaturation of neurons is attributed to elevated PSD95, NMDR2A, and IGF1 levels. Since oestrogen treatment plays key roles in the development and plasticity of DG, we hypothesized that 17β‐estradiol (E2) treatment would ameliorate neurogenesis and synaptogenesis in the DG, reversing cognitive deficits in premature newborns. Additionally, E2‐induced recovery would be mediated by IGF1 signalling. These hypotheses were tested in a rabbit model of prematurity and nonmaternal care, in which premature kits were gavage‐fed and reared by laboratory personnel. We compared E2‐ and vehicle‐treated preterm kits for morphological, molecular, and behavioural parameters. We also treated kits with oestrogen degrader, RAD1901, and assessed IGF1 signalling. We found that E2 treatment increased the number of Tbr2+ and DCX+ neuronal progenitors and increased the density of glutamatergic synapses in the DG. E2 treatment restored PSD95 and NMDAR2A levels and cognitive function in preterm kits. Transcriptomic analyses showed that E2 treatment contributed to recovery by influencing interactions between IGF1R and neurodegenerative, as well as glutamatergic genes. ERα expression was reduced on completion of E2 treatment at D7, followed by D30 elevation. E2‐induced fluctuation in ERα levels was associated with a reciprocal elevation in IGF1/2 expression at D7 and reduction at D30. ERα degradation by RAD1901 treatment enhanced IGF1 levels, suggesting ERα inhibits IGF1 expression. E2 treatment alleviates the prematurity‐induced maldevelopment of DG and cognitive dysfunctions by regulating ERα and IGF1 levels.

The level of body-mass index (BMI) associated with the lowest risk of death remains unclear. Although differences in muscle mass limit the utility of BMI as a measure of adiposity, no study has directly examined the effect of muscle mass on the BMI-mortality relationship. Body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 11,687 participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2004. Low muscle mass was defined using sex-specific thresholds of the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI). Proportional hazards models were created to model associations with all-cause mortality. At any level of BMI ≥22, participants with low muscle mass had higher body fat percentage (%TBF), an increased likelihood of diabetes, and higher adjusted mortality than other participants. Increases in %TBF manifested as 30-40% smaller changes in BMI than were observed in participants with preserved muscle mass. Excluding participants with low muscle mass or adjustment for ASMI attenuated the risk associated with low BMI, magnified the risk associated with high BMI, and shifted downward the level of BMI associated with the lowest risk of death. Higher ASMI was independently associated with lower mortality. Effects were similar in never-smokers and ever-smokers. Additional adjustment for waist circumference eliminated the risk associated with higher BMI. Results were unchanged after excluding unintentional weight loss, chronic illness, early mortality, and participants performing muscle-strengthening exercises or recommended levels of physical activity. Muscle mass mediates associations of BMI with adiposity and mortality and is inversely associated with the risk of death. After accounting for muscle mass, the BMI associated with the greatest survival shifts downward toward the normal range. These results provide a concrete explanation for the obesity paradox.

Active targeting and overcoming multi-drug resistance (MDR) can be some of the important attributes of targeted therapy for metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment. In this study, we constructed a hyaluronic acid (HA)-decorated mixed nanomicelles-encapsulating chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel (PTX) and P-glycoprotein inhibitor ritonavir (RTV). HA was conjugated to poly (lactide) co-(glycolide) (PLGA) polymer by disulfide bonds (HA-ss-PLGA). HA is a natural ligand for CD44 receptors overexpressed in breast cancer cells. Disulfide bonds undergo rapid reduction in the presence of glutathione, present in breast cancer cells. The addition of RTV can inhibit the P-gp and CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of PTX, thus aiding in reversing MDR and sensitizing the cells toward PTX. An in vitro uptake and cytotoxicity study in MBC MCF-7 and TNBC MDA-MB-231 cell lines demonstrated the effective uptake of the nanomicelles and drug PTX compared to non-neoplastic breast epithelium MCF-12A cells. Interestingly, in vitro potency determination showed a reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential and reactive oxygen species in breast cancer cell lines, indicating effective apoptosis of cancer cells. Thus, stimuli-sensitive nanomicelles along with HA targeting and RTV addition can effectively serve as a chemotherapeutic drug delivery agent for MBC and TNBC.

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) results in periventricular inflammation, hypomyelination of the white matter, and hydrocephalus in premature infants. No effective therapy exists to prevent these disorders. Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) agonists reduce inflammation, alleviate free radical generation, and enhance microglial phagocytosis, promoting clearance of debris and red blood cells. We hypothesized that activation of PPAR-γ would enhance myelination, reduce hydrocephalus, and promote neurological recovery in newborns with IVH. These hypotheses were tested in a preterm rabbit model of IVH; autopsy brain samples from premature infants with and without IVH were analyzed. We found that IVH augmented PPAR-γ expression in microglia of both preterm human infants and rabbit kits. The treatment with PPAR-γ agonist or PPAR-γ overexpression by adenovirus delivery further elevated PPAR-γ levels in microglia, reduced proinflammatory cytokines, increased microglial phagocytosis, and improved oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) maturation in kits with IVH. Transcriptomic analyses of OPCs identified previously unrecognized PPAR-γ–induced genes for purinergic signaling, cyclic adenosine monophosphate generation, and antioxidant production, which would reprogram these progenitors toward promoting myelination. RNA-sequencing analyses of microglia revealed PPAR-γ–triggered down-regulation of several proinflammatory genes and transcripts having roles in Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, contributing to neurological recovery in kits with IVH. Accordingly, PPAR-γ activation enhanced myelination and neurological function in kits with IVH. This also enhanced microglial phagocytosis of red blood cells but did not reduce hydrocephalus. Treatment with PPAR-γ agonist might enhance myelination and neurological recovery in premature infants with IVH.

COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant and multiple challenges for SMEs. While SMEs have traditionally faced financial and non-financial crises, the pandemic has brought about additional uncertainties on how to maintain business continuity. The purpose of this paper is to examine how SMEs can mitigate against COVID-19-related crisis by examining the impacts that the pandemic has had on them through a review of 34 articles. The thematic analysis from the literature covered three overarching and inter-related challenges including (i) cost and finance-related challenges, (ii) disruption of activities, and (iii) existential difficulties. The paper’s value lies in addressing the gap between the espoused literature’s claim of the beneficial impact of new technological advancements and SMEs’ ability to survive in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional value of this paper is a framework of recommendations to help enhance SMEs’ resilience and responsiveness in the context of COVID-19. These recommendations include collaboration, openness, taking advantage of opportunities/victory, and durability.

\"Sustainable investment\"-includes a variety of asset classes selected while caring for the causes of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). It is an investment strategy that seeks to combine social and/ or environmental benefits with financial returns, thus linking investor's social, ethical, ecological and economic concerns Under certain conditions, these indices also help to attract foreign capital, seeking international participation in the local capital markets. The purpose of this paper is to study whether the sustainable investment alternatives offer better financial returns than the conventional indices from both developed and emerging markets. With an intent to maintain consistency, this paper comparatively analyzes the financial returns of the Thomson Reuters/S-Network global indices, namely the developed markets (excluding US) ESG index-TRESGDX, emerging markets ESG index-TRESGEX, US large-cap ESG index-TRESGUS, Europe ESG index-TRESGEU, and those of the usual markets, namely MSCI world index (MSCI W), MSCI All Country World Equity index (MSCI ACWI), MSCI USA index (MSCI USA), and MSCI Europe Australasia Far East index (MSCI EAFE), MSCI Emerging Markets index (MSCI EM) and MSCI Europe index (MSCI EU). The study also focusses on the inter-linkages between these indices. Daily closing prices of all the benchmark indices are taken for the five-year period of January 2013-December 2017. Line charts and unit-root tests are applied to check the stationary nature of the series; Granger's causality model, auto-regressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH)-GARCH type modelling is performed to find out the linkages between the markets under study followed by the Johansen's cointegration test and the Vector Error Correction Model to test the volatility spillover between the sustainable indices and the conventional indices. The study finds that the sustainable indices and the conventional indices are integrated and there is a flow of information between the two investment avenues. The results indicate that there is no significant difference in the performance between sustainable indices and the traditional conventional indices, being a good substitute to the latter. Hence, the financial/investment managers can obtain more insights regarding investment decisions, and the study further suggests that their portfolios should consider both the indices with the perspective of diversifying the risk and hedging, and reap benefits of the same. Additionally, corporate executives shall use it to benchmark their own performance against peers and track news as well.

KZr2PO43:xEu3+ Nanophosphors with varying molar percentages (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mol. %) are synthesized using a urea-assisted solution combustion synthesis approach. The phosphors exhibit crystallization in a rhombohedral phase, namely in the R 3¯ c space group with the help of X-ray diffraction. The anionic group of (PO4)3− is responsible for all the vibrations occurring in the FTIR spectra. The photoluminescence characteristics of KZr2PO43:xEu3+ (x = 0.5 – 5 mol. %) are examined when excited at a wavelength of 392 nm, resulting in the prominent emission at 613 nm. At a concentration of 2 mol. %, the optimal concentration is observed, and the emission tone of the phosphor is centered in the reddish part of the color gamut, with a high color purity of 92%. It is observed that the synthesized phosphor has a branching ratio more than 50%, indicating a possible laser emission transition. The band gap energy of KZr2PO43:Eu3+ is found via diffuse reflectance measurements and found to be 4.19 eV. The value of metallization criteria is less than unity which dictates the non-metallic nature of the synthesized phosphors. These results indicate that this phosphor is very suitable for use in solid-state lighting applications as a red light-emitting phosphor.

d-Amino acids are important biological molecules. Improved analytical methods for their resolution and quantification remain of keen interest. In this study, we investigated the use of Marfey’s reagent (chiral) derivatization coupled with LC-MS/MS-based separation and detection of the resulting diastereomers for quantification of the 19 common l- and d-amino acids and glycine. Standard formic acid (pH 2)-based separations on reverse phase media were unable to separate all 19 amino acid dl pairs. In contrast, a water/acetonitrile/ammonium acetate (pH 6.5) solvent system allowed all 19 amino acid dl pairs to be chromatographically resolved on a 30 min gradient, with negative mode detection at pH 6.5 giving good sensitivity. Derivatization reaction rates between amino acids varied substantially, with overnight derivatization required for some amino acids. Chromatography at pH 6.5 combined with MS/MS quantification in negative mode demonstrated good linearity over a wide concentration range for all 20 amino acids. Matrix effects, assessed with an MRSA extract, were negligible. Marfey’s derivatized analytes were stable for 24 h at room temperature. This method was demonstrated by determining the levels of these analytes in mid-log phase MRSA extracts. This approach provides for the chromatographic resolution and MS/MS-based quantification of all 20 common l- and d-amino acids in complex matrices.Graphical Abstractᅟ

Intracellular Wolbachia bacteria manipulate arthropod reproduction to promote their own inheritance. The most prevalent mechanism, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), traces to a Wolbachia deubiquitylase, CidB, and CidA. CidB has properties of a toxin, while CidA binds CidB and rescues embryonic viability. CidB is also toxic to yeast where we identified both host effects and high-copy suppressors of toxicity. The strongest suppressor was karyopherin-α, a nuclear-import receptor; this required nuclear localization-signal binding. A protein-interaction screen of Drosophila extracts using a substrate-trapping catalytic mutant, CidB*, also identified karyopherin-α; the P32 protamine-histone exchange factor bound as well. When CidB* bound CidA, these host protein interactions disappeared. These associations would place CidB at the zygotic male pronucleus where CI defects first manifest. Overexpression of karyopherin-α, P32, or CidA in female flies suppressed CI. We propose that CidB targets nuclear-protein import and protamine-histone exchange and that CidA rescues embryos by restricting CidB access to its targets.