Determining factors of the innovative behavior of cooperatives: an analysis of the case of Castilla y León

Cooperatives have a long historical experience in the Spanish economy and have demonstrated their ability to compete against traditional firms in the market. To maintain this capability, while taking advantage of the competitive advantages associated with their idiosyncrasies as social economy enterprises, they should take into consideration that the economy is increasingly globalized and increasingly knowledge-based, especially with regards to technological content. As a consequence, the innovative capacity appears to be a key aspect in order to be able to challenge competitors. This article characterizes the innovative behavior of cooperatives in the region of Castile and Leon and analyses the internal and external factors affecting their innovative performance, based on data from a survey of 581 cooperatives. The results of the empirical analysis, which is performed by multivariate binary logistic regression on various types of innovation, lead us to identify the size of the organizations, the existence of planning, the R & D activities and the human capital as the main determining factors.

Indicadores de sostenibilidad ambiental en el periurbano de la ciudad de Mar del Plata, Argentina

Los indicadores de sostenibilidad conforman herramientas útiles para la toma de decisiones. Las ciudades latinoamericanas, y especialmente las áreas de expansión sin planificación adecuada, enfrentan desafíos cada vez mayores para revertir problemáticas que amenazan su sostenibilidad. El presente trabajo evalúa de manera preliminar, la sostenibilidad ambiental del periurbano de Mar del Plata (Argentina) tomando como referencia algunos de los indicadores propuestos por el modelo del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo en la Iniciativa Ciudades Emergentes y Sostenibles. Se construyó un índice sintético (Índice de Sostenibilidad Ambiental, ISA) que integra trece indicadores agrupados en ocho temas. Las situaciones más críticas (ISA: 0,45-0,558) se identifican fundamentalmente en zonas en las que se desarrollan actividades rurales y en las que se localizan asentamientos de carácter precario. El estudio realizado profundiza en el conocimiento de la dimensión ambiental de la sostenibilidad, enfatizando en el análisis de los contrastes internos del periurbano marplatense.

Dioxygenase-catalysed mono-, di- and tri-oxygenation of dialkyl sulfides and thioacetals: chemoenzymatic synthesis of enantiopure cis-diol sulfoxides

Toluene dioxygenase (TDO)-catalysed monooxygenation of methylsulfanylmethyl phenyl sulfide 1 and methylsulfanylmethyl 2-pyridyl sulfide 4, using whole cells of Pseudomonas putida UV4, occurred exclusively at the alkyl aryl sulfur centre to yield the alkyl aryl sulfoxides 2 and 5 respectively. These sulfoxides, accompanied by the dialkyl sulfoxides 3 and 6, were also obtained from naphthalene dioxygenase (NDO)-catalysed sulfoxidation of thioacetals 1 and 4 using intact cells of P. putida NCIMB 8859. Enzymatic oxidation of methyl benzyl sulfide 7, 2-phenyl-1,3-dithiane 19, and 2-phenyl-1,3-dithiolane 23, using TDO, gave the corresponding dialkyl sulfoxides 8, 20 and 24 as minor bioproducts. TDO-catalysed dioxygenation of the alkyl benzyl sulfides 7, 15 and 17 and the thioacetals 19 and 23, with P. putida UV4, yielded the corresponding enantiopure cis-dihydrodiols 9, 16, 18, 21 and 25 as major metabolites and cis-dihydrodiol sulfoxides 14, 22 and 26 as minor metabolites, resulting from a tandem trioxygenation of substrates 7, 19 and 23 respectively. Chemical oxidation, of the enantiopure cis-dihydrodiol sulfides 9, 16, 18 and 21 with dimethyldioxirane (DMD), gave separable mixtures of the corresponding pairs of cis-dihydrodiol sulfoxide diastereoisomers 14 and 27, 28 and 29, 30 and 31, 22 and 32. While dialkyl sulfoxide bioproducts 3, 6, 20 and 24 were of variable enantiopurity (27-greater than or equal to 98% ee), alkyl aryl monosulfoxides 2 and 5, cis-dihydrodiols 9, 16, 18, 21 and 25 and cis-dihydrodiol sulfoxide bioproducts 14, 22 and 26 were all single enantiomers (greater than or equal to 98% ee). The absolute configurations of the products, obtained from enzyme-catalysed (TDO and NDO) and chemical (DMD) oxidation methods, were determined by stereochemical correlation, circular dichroism, and X-ray crystallographic methods.

DPP IV resistance and insulin releasing activity of a novel di-substituted analogue of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, (Ser(2)-Asp(13))GIP

Structure-function studies suggest that preservation of the N-terminus and secondary structure of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) is important for biological activity. Therefore, a novel di-substituted analogue of GIP, (Ser(2)-Asp(13))GIP, containing a negatively charged Asp residue in place of an Ala in position 13, seas synthesised and evaluated for in vitro biological activity. Incubation with dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV) showed the half-lives of GIP and (Ser(2)-Asp(13))GIP to be 2.3 and >4 h, respectively. Insulin releasing studies in clonal pancreatic BRIN-BD11 cells demonstrated that (Ser(2)-Asp(13))GIP (10(-12) to 10(-7) mol/l) was significantly less potent (60-90%; P