Summary
Aqueous environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging efficient non‐invasive tool for species inventory studies. To maximize performance of downstream quantitative PCR (qPCR) and next‐generation ...sequencing (NGS) applications, quality and quantity of the starting material is crucial, calling for optimized capture, storage and extraction techniques of eDNA. Previous comparative studies for eDNA capture/storage have tested precipitation and ‘open’ filters. However, practical ‘enclosed’ filters which reduce unnecessary handling have not been included. Here, we fill this gap by comparing a filter capsule (Sterivex‐GP polyethersulfone, pore size 0·22 μm, hereafter called SX) with commonly used methods.
Our experimental set‐up, covering altogether 41 treatments combining capture by precipitation or filtration with different preservation techniques and storage times, sampled one single lake (and a fish‐free control pond). We selected documented capture methods that have successfully targeted a wide range of fauna. The eDNA was extracted using an optimized protocol modified from the DNeasy® Blood & Tissue kit (Qiagen). We measured total eDNA concentrations and Cq‐values (cycles used for DNA quantification by qPCR) to target specific mtDNA cytochrome b (cyt b) sequences in two local keystone fish species.
SX yielded higher amounts of total eDNA along with lower Cq‐values than polycarbonate track‐etched filters (PCTE), glass fibre filters (GF) or ethanol precipitation (EP). SX also generated lower Cq‐values than cellulose nitrate filters (CN) for one of the target species. DNA integrity of SX samples did not decrease significantly after 2 weeks of storage in contrast to GF and PCTE. Adding preservative before storage improved SX results.
In conclusion, we recommend SX filters (originally designed for filtering micro‐organisms) as an efficient capture method for sampling macrobial eDNA. Ethanol or Longmire's buffer preservation of SX immediately after filtration is recommended. Preserved SX capsules may be stored at room temperature for at least 2 weeks without significant degradation. Reduced handling and less exposure to outside stress compared with other filters may contribute to better eDNA results. SX capsules are easily transported and enable eDNA sampling in remote and harsh field conditions as samples can be filtered/preserved on site.
The article examines the effects of non-financial disclosure (NFD) on corporate social responsibility (CSR). We conceptualise trade-offs between two ideal types (government regulation and business ...self-regulation) in relation to CSR. Whereas selfregulation is associated with greater flexibility for businesses to develop best practices, it can also lead to complacency if firms feel no external pressure to engage with CSR. In contrast, government regulation is associated with greater stringency around minimum standards, but can also result in rigidity owing to a One-size-fits-air approach. Given these potential tradeoffs, we ask how mandatory non-financial disclosure has been shaping CSR practices and examine its potential effectiveness as a regulatory instrument. Our analysis of 24 OECD countries using the Asset4 database shows that firms in countries that require non-financial disclosure adopt significantly more CSR activities. However, we also find that NFD regulation does not lead to lower levels of corporate irresponsibility. Furthermore, our analysis demonstrates that, over time, the variation in CSR activities declines as firms adopt increasingly similar practices. Our study thereby contributes to understanding the impact of government regulation on CSR at firm level. We also discuss the limits of mandatory NFD in addressing regulatory trade-offs between stringency and flexibility in the field of corporate social responsibility.
Little is known about when corporate social responsibility (CSR) leads to a sustainability case (i.e., to improvements in environmental and social performance). Building on various forms of ...decoupling, we develop a theoretical framework for examining pathways from institutional pressures through CSR management to sustainability performance. To empirically identify such pathways, we apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to an extensive dataset from 19 large companies. We discover that different pathways are associated with environmental and social performance (non)improvements, and that pathways to success and failure are for the most part not symmetrical. We identify two pathways to improved environmental performance: an exogenous and an endogenous one. We find two pathways to improved social performance that both involve integrating social responsibility into the core business. Pathways to nonimprovements are multiple, suggesting that failure can occur in a number of ways, while there are only a few pathways to sustainability performance improvements.
We investigate the relationship of corporate social responsibility (CSR) (often assumed to reflect corporate voluntarism) and government (often assumed to reflect coercion). We distinguish two broad ...perspectives on the CSR and government relationship: the dichotomous (i.e., government and CSR are / should be independent of one another) and the related (i.e., government and CSR are / should be interconnected). Using typologies of CSR public policy and of CSR and the law, we present an integrated framework for corporate discretion for engagement with public policy for CSR. We make four related contributions. First, we explain the dichotomous and the related perspectives with reference to their various assumptions and analyses. Second, we demonstrate that public policy for CSR and corporate discretion coexist and interact. Specifically, we show, third, that public policy for CSR can inform and stimulate corporate discretion and, fourth, that corporations have discretion for CSR, particularly as to how corporations engage with such policy.
While most scholarship on corporate social responsibility (CSR) focuses on company‐level CSR initiatives, it increasingly also examines government programs for CSR. However, research on how ...governments contribute to CSR has mainly focused on domestic and not international CSR challenges. This literature also does not specify whether governments shape CSR through mandatory regulation or supportive initiatives. This article adopts a process‐tracing approach to determine how governments regulate international CSR. It demonstrates that the legal and political systems in the liberal market economies of the UK and the US lead to different forms of public CSR regulation — notably in the areas of labour standards in apparel and tax transparency in extractives. The UK government has been more likely to support bottom‐up collaborative multi‐stakeholder initiatives, whereas the US government has favoured top‐down mandatory regulation.
This phase 1 study examined the safety, maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) and antitumour activity of E7449, a novel PARP 1/2 and tankyrase 1/2 inhibitor.
E7449 was orally administered once daily in 28-day ...cycles to patients with advanced solid tumours (50-800-mg doses). Archival tumour samples from consenting patients were evaluated for the expression of 414 genes in a biomarker panel (2X-121 drug-response predictor DRP) found to be predictive of the response to E7449 in cell lines.
Forty-one patients were enrolled (13 pancreatic, 5 ovarian, 4 each with breast, lung or colorectal cancer and 11 with other tumour types). The most common grade ≥3 treatment-related adverse event was fatigue (n = 7, 17.1%). Five patients experienced a dose-limiting toxicity (fatigue, n = 4, 800 mg; anaphylaxis, n = 1, 600 mg) for an MTD of 600 mg. E7449 exhibited antitumour activity in solid tumours, including 2 partial responses (PRs), and stable disease (SD) in 13 patients, which was durable (>23 weeks) for 8 patients. In 13 patients, the 2X-121 DRP identified those achieving PR and durable SD. E7449 showed good tolerability, promising antitumour activity and significant concentration-dependent PARP inhibition following 50-800-mg oral dosing.
The results support further clinical investigation of E7449 and its associated biomarker 2X-121 DRP.
www.ClinicalTrials.gov code: NCT01618136.
Private organizations play a growing role in governing global issues alongside traditional public actors such as states, international organizations, and subnational governments. What do we know ...about how private authority and public policy interact? What are the implications of answering this question for understanding support for, and effects of, policy development generally? The purpose of this article is to reflect on these questions by introducing, and reviewing, a special issue that challenges explicit claims, and implicit methodologies, that treat private and public governance realms as distinct and/or static. We do so by advancing a theoretical and conceptual framework with which to explore how the contributions to this special issue enhance an understanding about governance interactions across a range of empirical, sectoral, and regional domains. We specifically introduce the concept of governance spheres to capture the proliferation of issue domains denoted by highly fluid interactions across public and private governance boundaries.
Visible Hands Knudsen, Jette Steen; Moon, Jeremy
11/2017
eBook
Odprti dostop
A growing number of states are regulating the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of domestic multinational corporations relating to overseas subsidiaries and suppliers. In this book, Jette Steen ...Knudsen and Jeremy Moon offer a new framework for analysing government–CSR relations: direct and indirect policies for CSR. Arguing that existing research on CSR regulation fails to address the growing role of the state in shaping the international practices of multinational corporations, the authors provide insight into the CSR issues that are addressed by government policies. Drawing on case studies, they analyse three key examples of CSR: non-financial reporting, ethical trade and tax transparency in extractive industries. In doing so, they propose a new research agenda of government and CSR that is relevant to scholars and graduate students in CSR, sustainability, political economy and economic sociology, as well as policymakers and consultants in international development and trade.
Dovitinib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor of VEGFR1-3, PDGFR, FGFR1/3, c-KIT, FLT3 and topoisomerase 1 and 2. The drug response predictor (DRP) biomarker algorithm or DRP-Dovitinib is being ...developed as a companion diagnostic to dovitinib and was applied retrospectively. Archival tumor samples were obtained from consenting patients in a phase 3 trial comparing dovitinib to sorafenib in renal cell carcinoma patients and the DRP-Dovitinib was applied. The biomarker algorithm combines the expression of 58 messenger RNAs relevant to the in vitro sensitivity or resistance to dovitinib, including genes associated with FGFR, PDGF, VEGF, PI3K/Akt/mTOR and topoisomerase pathways as well as ABC drug transport, and provides a likelihood score between 0-100%. The DRP-Dovitinib divided the dovitinib treated RCC patients into two groups, sensitive (n = 49, DRP score >50%) or resistant (n = 86, DRP score less than or equal to 50%) to dovitinib. The DRP sensitive population was compared to the unselected sorafenib arm (n = 286). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 3.8 months in the DRP sensitive dovitinib arm and 3.6 months in the sorafenib arm (hazard ratio 0.71, 95% CI 0.51-1.01). Median overall survival (OS) was 15.0 months in the DRP sensitive dovitinib arm and 11.2 months in the sorafenib arm (hazard ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.48-0.99). The observed clinical benefit increased with increasing DRP score. At a cutoff of 67% the median OS was 20.6 months and the median PFS was 5.7 months in the dovitinib arm. The results were confirmed in five smaller phase II trials of dovitinib which showed a similar trend. The DRP-Dovitinib shows promise as a potential biomarker for identifying advanced RCC patients most likely to experience clinical benefit from dovitinib treatment, subject to confirmation in an independent prospective trial of dovitinib in RCC patients.
This paper analyses policies of 22 European Union member governments, designed to encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR) between 2000 and 2011. It categorises these policies by their ...regulatory strength and identifies the range of issues to which CSR policies are directed. The paper argues that Northern European, Scandinavian and UK governments are reconstructing their respective institutional structures to embed CSR concerns more explicitly therein. It concludes that these government CSR initiatives are converging, particularly around their increased regulatory strength and the broadening of their issue application. Policies in Mediterranean and the former communist countries do not reflect increasing institutionalisation.
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