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Antecedents of Brand Authenticity in Cause-Related Sport Marketing Campaigns
Get PDFCause-related sport marketing (CRSM) has been a popular managerial technique over the last two decades. There is a common perception that for CRSM to be effective, consumers must perceive the sponsoring brand to be authentic in its actions. Minimal empirical research has analyzed the antecedent factors that lead consumers to perceive a brand as authentic in CRSM. Using multiple linear regression, six antecedent factors’ impact on brand authenticity were tested. Perceptions of the brand’s motives and brand transparency were found to have a statistically significant impact on brand authenticity
Vision of Nuclear Power Deployment in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Focus on Small Modular Reactors and the Regional Experience of Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares
Get PDFIncreasing the number of nuclear power reactors in the Latin American and Caribbean region presents technical, financial, regulatory, and environmental challenges. Focused on fostering economic stability, growth, and human capacity development, the deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) emerges as a key aspect in the region’s energy landscape. The emergence of SMRs represents an opportunity for multidisciplinary cooperation among different sectors. To comprehensively address the challenges related to the protection of nuclear facilities in the region, the Tlatelolco Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty should be strengthened as legally binding instruments to enforce the safety and safeguarding principles integral to the peaceful applications of nuclear energy. Financial, technical, human resource, and digital challenges must also be addressed to enable opportunities for integrating nuclear technology into the region’s power grids. This article serves as a call of action to collaborate on harnessing the power of nuclear energy while championing gender diversity and international cooperation for the benefit of the region’s socioeconomic landscape.
Drawing from the exemplary Central Argentina de Elementos Modulares (CAREM) project in Argentina, which showcases the integration of SMRs into the national energy mix, this paper underscores the multiple aspects that the SMR market needs to address for deployment in the region. This study provides an overview of the region\u27s energy and nuclear landscape, highlighting challenges and opportunities in various sectors. It provides introductory elements for planning a strategy for the use of nuclear power in the region, emphasizing joint cooperation among Latin American and Caribbean countries to pave the way for a sustainable and prosperous future driven by a clean, safe and reliable energy solution. In particular, CAREM-25 is a 25 MWe prototype SMR based on pressurized water reactor technology and was designed and launched by the National Atomic Energy Commission of Argentina (CNEA). The project is under construction and has an estimated criticality date of late 2027. The Argentine case also provides outstanding examples of women in leadership positions, such as General Manager of the CAREM project Dr. Sol Pedre and former President of the CNEA Dr. Adriana Serquis
Studying Xenorhabdus Genomes for Insight into Neurochemical Animal-Microbe Interactions
No full textNematodes are effective models for understanding molecular bases of animal-microbe interactions, including how bacterial products impact animal development and behavior. Steinernema nematodes coordinate specific symbioses with Xenorhabdus bacteria. The bacteria provide a food source and virulence factors when infecting insects. In turn, the nematodes transport bacteria between hosts. Previous preliminary data implicated the Xenorhabdus nematophila enzyme HpaBC in modulating Steinernema carpocapsae nematode egg-laying behavior. HpaBC’s role in organizing development and behavior was investigated using another nematode-bacterial pair, X. griffiniae and S. hermaphroditum, where an X. griffiniae strain was engineered with hpaBC under an inducible system. Modifying hpaBC expression significantly altered host growth and influenced egg-laying behavior in a similar manner to S. carpocapsae. Alongside HpaBC, numerous bacterial proteins likely mediate host developmental and behavioral impacts by interacting with neurotransmitter metabolic pathways. Two such enzymes, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase (MOAA), are critical in metabolizing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Computational analysis revealed homologs of both enzymes encoded within select Xenorhabdus strains, with the distribution of COMT and MOAA loci forming distinct clusters within the genus. Given the similarity of these enzymes to human homologs targeted by antidepressants, understanding how bacteria modulate host physiology could provide insights into numerous microbiota-related disorders
Mind-Altering Microbes: How Gut Bacteria Influence Development and Behavior of Animal Hosts
Get PDFNematodes are effective models for understanding the molecular bases of animal-microbe interactions, including how bacterial products impact animal development and behavior. Steinernema hermaphroditum nematodes engage in a specific symbiosis with the bacterium Xenorhabdus griffiniae, which provides a food source and virulence vector in insects. In turn, the nematodes provide a vehicle to move bacteria between insect hosts. Previous studies demonstrated how nematodes grown on bacteria with mutations in the gene encoding the stress-response transcription factor RpoS showed differences in egg-laying behavior compared to wild-type controls. The Xenorhabdus RpoS regulon includes the highly conserved hpaBC locus, encoding enzymes that could act on metabolic intermediates of the neurotransmitter dopamine. We hypothesized that varying levels of rpoS and hpaBC in X. griffiniae will alter nematode development and egg-laying. To test this hypothesis, we created X. griffiniae strains with arabinose-tunable rpoS and hpaBC expression and then grew S. hermaphroditum on lawns of these strains with and without arabinose present. Arabinose induction of rpoS and hpaBC produced significant changes in nematode length and across treatment conditions. Preliminarily, we also found that increased HpaBC expression decreased egg-laying behaviors. These results suggest RpoS and HpaBC may regulate behavior and development in animal hosts
Examining Gut-Brain Axis Interactions Through Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Their Bacterial Endosymbionts
Get PDFNematodes are emerging as important models for understanding the molecular basis of animal-microbe interactions, including how bacterial products impact animal behaviors. Entomopathogenic nematodes, like Steinernema, are especially attractive models because of their symbiotic interactions with single Xenorhabdus bacterial partners. Previous studies demonstrated how S. carpocapsae nematodes grown on X. nematophila with mutations in the gene encoding the stress-response transcription factor rpoS showed differences in egg-laying behavior when compared to wild-type controls. The RpoS regulon includes the hpaBC locus, encoding homoprotocatechuate pathway enzymes that can act on intermediates in dopamine metabolism. We hypothesize that this egg-laying phenotype may result from the modulation of nematode dopamine levels through the action of HpaBC. To test this hypothesis, we aimed to create a Xenorhabdus strain with tunable hpaBC expression using X. griffiniae, the endosymbiont of S. hermaphroditum, a species for which genetic tools are rapidly emerging. We created plasmids to modify the X. griffiniae hpaBC locus by cloning 200 bp, 300 bp, and 500 bp regions of hpaBC into an existing arabinose-inducible expression system, the native hpaBC promoter with a pBAD arabinose-inducible promoter. After conjugation of the plasmid into X. griffiniae, exconjugates were confirmed by PCR and will be used in future in vivo studies to examine potential links between symbiont-derived HpaBC and dopamine synthesis within the host, including whether HpaBC activity regulates typical neurodevelopment and dopamine-mediated behaviors like egg-laying. Since HpaBC regulates the homoprotocatechuate pathway in numerous bacterial strains, future investigations may highlight HpaBC homologs as dopamine regulators in other animal hosts
