Highlights We examine the role of ESG performance during market-wide financial crisis. We focus on the period of financial crisis triggered by COVID-19. ESG performance lowers financial risk during a crisis. High-ESG (performance) portfolios generally outperform low-ESG portfolios. We make use of a novel ESG dataset for China’s CSI300 members.

Campylobacter jejuni infections are one of the leading causes of human gastroenteritis and are suspected of being a precursor to Guillain–Barré and Miller–Fisher syndromes. Recently, the complete genome sequence of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 was described. In this study, the molecular structure of the lipooligosaccharide and capsular polysaccharide of C. jejuni NCTC 11168 was investigated. The lipooligosaccharide was shown to exhibit carbohydrate structures analogous to the GM1a and GM2 carbohydrate epitopes of human gangliosides (shown below): The high Mr capsule polysaccharide was composed of β‐d‐Ribp, β‐d‐GalfNAc, α‐d‐GlcpA6(NGro), a uronic acid amidated with 2‐amino‐2‐deoxyglycerol at C‐6, and 6‐O‐methyl‐d‐glycero‐α‐l‐gluco‐heptopyranose as a side‐branch (shown below): The structural information presented here will aid in the identification and characterization of specific enzymes that are involved in the biosynthesis of these structures and may lead to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. In addition, the correlation of carbohydrate structure with gene complement will aid in the elucidation of the role of these surface carbohydrates in C. jejuni pathogenesis.

Tympanostomy tubes produce large short-term improvements in QOL for most children. The best outcomes occur when postoperative otorrhea is absent or minimal, and when parents are satisfied with their initial decision to have surgery. Further research is needed to document the long-term impact of tubes on child QOL.

A series of platinum(II) terpyridyl complexes [Pt(tpy)(C triple bond C-C triple bond CH)]X, 1-X (X=OTf-; PF6-; ClO4-; BF4-; BPh4-); [Pt(tpy)(C triple bond CC6H5)]X, 2-X (X=OTf-; PF6-; ClO4-; BF4-); [Pt(tpy)(C triple bond CC6H4OCH3-4)]OTf, 3-OTf, and [Pt(4'-CH3O-tpy)(C triple bond CC6H5)]OTf, 4-OTf (tpy=2,2':6',2''-terpyridine, OTf=trifluoromethanesulfonate) were synthesized and their photophysical properties determined. Electronic absorption and emission studies showed the formation of a new band upon increasing the diethyl ether content in an acetonitrile/diethyl ether mixture. This was ascribed to the formation of complex aggregates, the solution color of which is dependent on the nature of the anions. This indicates that counter ions play an important role in governing the degree of aggregation and the extent of interactions within these aggregates. Addition of various anions to solutions of 1-OTf and 1-PF6 produced anion-induced color changes upon solvent-induced aggregation, indicating that these complexes may serve as potential colorimetric anion probes.

Single-stranded nucleic acids, which carry multiple negative charges in an aqueous medium at near neutral pH, are found to induce the aggregation and self-assembly of the positively charged alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridyl complexes via electrostatic binding of the platinum complexes to the single-stranded nucleic acids, as revealed by the appearance of new UV-vis absorption and emission bands upon addition of single-stranded nucleic acids to a buffer solution of the complex. Changes in the intensity and pattern of circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy are also observed, many of which are consistent with the assembly of the platinum complexes into helical structures, via metal⅐⅐⅐metal and ⅐⅐⅐ stacking interactions. The induced spectroscopic property changes are found to depend on the structural properties of the nucleic acids.helicity ͉ noncovalent interactions ͉ platinum complex N ucleic acids are, in a sense, the most fundamental and important class of biomolecules in a living cell. Detection of nucleic acids, analysis of their sequence, structure, and the corresponding properties, as well as their self-replication, interactions with regulation factors, and the details of transcription and translation are among the major foci of numerous biochemical and biophysical research works (1, 2). Single-stranded nucleic acid sensing and characterization are therefore of great importance, which not only can help us to understand how the cell functions and to assist biological research, but also facilitate the development of new tools for disease diagnosis and treatment and new drug developments.It has been known for many years that many of the square planar metal complexes arrange themselves into highly ordered extended linear chain or oligomeric structures in the solid state. Depending on the extent of the metal⅐⅐⅐metal and the ligand ⅐⅐⅐ stacking interactions, different colors could be observed (3, 4). Square planar platinum(II) complexes belong to a particularly interesting class of this type of complexes, as a result of their rich spectroscopic and luminescence properties revealed during the past few decades (3-16).Recently, we have synthesized a number of platinum(II) polypyridyl alkynyl complexes that show interesting spectroscopic and luminescence properties (17-21). One particularly interesting observation is that solvents of different polarity and also polyacrylate could induce the aggregation of the positively charged platinum complexes in organic solvent mixtures (19, 21). As a result, remarkable spectroscopic property changes were observed. Because single-stranded nucleic acids carry multiple negatively charged phosphate functional groups, they are polyanions. It is therefore reasonable to envisage that single-stranded nucleic acids may have the possibility to induce the self-assembly of the square planar platinum(II) complexes in an aqueous environment. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a water-soluble platinum(II) terpyridyl alkynyl complex, [Pt(tpy)C'CC'CCH 2 OH]OTf (1) (Fig. 1), and it...