The mediating impact of airlines' image in relation of corporate social responsibility and customers' loyalty: An empirical in Vietnam

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards sustainable development has been identified as a marketing philosophy that businesses in developed countries should pursue in the post-Covid-19 era as these practices deal with urgent global social and environmental challenges. Such efforts contributing to sustainable development will enhance corporate image and reinforce strong bonds with customers. In developing countries like Vietnam, how CSR affects consumer behaviour and the mechanism regulating the relationship between CSR and consumer behavior are the research gaps that have not been widely investigated. This study explores the relationship between CSR and customer loyalty, with the emphasis on the mediating role of corporate image. Focusing on the Vietnamese aviation industry, the author surveyed 514 passengers and analyzed them using structural equation modeling. Our findings show that CSR has a positive impact on corporate image and customer loyalty. In addition, CSR also affects customer loyalty through enhancing corporate image. Research results have provided research implications and management implications for the future. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Rational design of thioamide peptides as selective inhibitors of cysteine protease cathepsin L† † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Descriptions of materials and methods, including peptide synthesis, characterization, and purification, protease assays, validation of protease assays with HPLC and MS, details on cell lysate assay and inhibition assays. See DOI: 10.1039/d1sc00785h

Aberrant levels of cathepsin L (Cts L), a ubiquitously expressed endosomal cysteine protease, have been implicated in many diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Significantly, Cts L has been identified as a potential target for the treatment of COVID-19 due to its recently unveiled critical role in SARS-CoV-2 entry into the host cells. However, there are currently no clinically approved specific inhibitors of Cts L, as it is often challenging to obtain specificity against the many highly homologous cathepsin family cysteine proteases. Peptide-based agents are often promising protease inhibitors as they offer high selectivity and potency, but unfortunately are subject to degradation in vivo. Thioamide substitution, a single-atom O-to-S modification in the peptide backbone, has been shown to improve the proteolytic stability of peptides addressing this issue. Utilizing this approach, we demonstrate herein that good peptidyl substrates can be converted into sub-micromolar inhibitors of Cts L by a single thioamide substitution in the peptide backbone. We have designed and scanned several thioamide stabilized peptide scaffolds, in which one peptide, RS1A, was stabilized against proteolysis by all five cathepsins (Cts L, Cts V, Cts K, Cts S, and Cts B) while inhibiting Cts L with >25-fold specificity against the other cathepsins. We further showed that this stabilized RS1A peptide could inhibit Cts L in human liver carcinoma lysates (IC50 = 19 μM). Our study demonstrates that one can rationally design a stabilized, specific peptidyl protease inhibitor by strategic placement of a thioamide and reaffirms the place of this single-atom modification in the toolbox of peptide-based rational drug design. Information on the effects of sidechain and backbone modification on the activity of cathepsin (Cts) L, V, K, S, and B was used to design a thioamide peptide that is inert to all Cts and selectively inhibits Cts L.

Rational design of thioamide peptides as selective inhibitors of cysteine protease cathepsin L.

Aberrant levels of cathepsin L (Cts L), a ubiquitously expressed endosomal cysteine protease, have been implicated in many diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Significantly, Cts L has been identified as a potential target for the treatment of COVID-19 due to its recently unveiled critical role in SARS-CoV-2 entry into the host cells. However, there are currently no clinically approved specific inhibitors of Cts L, as it is often challenging to obtain specificity against the many highly homologous cathepsin family cysteine proteases. Peptide-based agents are often promising protease inhibitors as they offer high selectivity and potency, but unfortunately are subject to degradation in vivo. Thioamide substitution, a single-atom O-to-S modification in the peptide backbone, has been shown to improve the proteolytic stability of peptides addressing this issue. Utilizing this approach, we demonstrate herein that good peptidyl substrates can be converted into sub-micromolar inhibitors of Cts L by a single thioamide substitution in the peptide backbone. We have designed and scanned several thioamide stabilized peptide scaffolds, in which one peptide, RS 1A, was stabilized against proteolysis by all five cathepsins (Cts L, Cts V, Cts K, Cts S, and Cts B) while inhibiting Cts L with >25-fold specificity against the other cathepsins. We further showed that this stabilized RS 1A peptide could inhibit Cts L in human liver carcinoma lysates (IC50 = 19 µM). Our study demonstrates that one can rationally design a stabilized, specific peptidyl protease inhibitor by strategic placement of a thioamide and reaffirms the place of this single-atom modification in the toolbox of peptide-based rational drug design.

Expanding the Differential During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Fatal West Nile Virus Neuroinvasive Disease.

The ever-evolving pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has the potential to drown out other viruses continuing to infect communities. To highlight this, we present 2 cases of fatal West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease that occurred within 2 weeks of each other. Since the first positive case of West Nile virus in the United States, there have been 2 epidemics in the past 2 decades, most often occurring in regions of North Texas and Southern California, which have been areas of high-incidence for COVID-19. It is important for the health care provider to recognize diagnostic biases and maintain broad differentials for the patient presenting with fever and other symptoms associated with COVID-19.