Board's diversity and the recognition of integrated reports: Are they related?

This paper investigates the influence of Board of Directors’ diversity on the external reputation of highly Integrated Reports, using a set of international entities. Globalization and competitive environment lead companies to diversify their responsibilities to stakeholders and to the society as a whole. Notwithstanding the need to prepare reports to providers of capital, companies currently must report to a broader audience than shareholders, capturing the attention of several categories of stakeholders. They want to know why, where and how companies create and add value, and how they deal with responsibility and sustainability issues. While an increasingly number of entities are disclosing sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) information, there is still little connection between such information, financial information, performance and value creation strategy. This gap has been over debate, and Integrated Reporting () has emerged. Still voluntary in almost all the world, it is indeed gradually encouraged and supported by regulators, institutional investors and organizations, as an innovative nature in promoting a holistic and integrated vision of the company, where the Board of Directors must play an important role (defining strategies, promoting policies and implementing best practices). The main issue we address is whether different characteristics of Directors seated on the Board impact on the external decision to consider the Integrated Report of that company as a Recognized, instead of a Regular one. Differences between Reference and Regular are supported in the attribution of a premium by external parties, or on the independent recommendation to serve as benchmark. Our sample includes 377 entities all over the world identified as preparers, from whom people expect to be accountable for the transparency of their external communication process. Main findings reveal that while the role duality of the CEO has a negative influence, the board size, the independence of the board and the gender diversity are positively contributing to the diffusion of integrated reports of higher recognition, and Experience is not statistical significant. The results are maintained when institutional characteristics of the countries are included.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The relationship between board’s diversity and the reputation of integrated reports

The integrated reporting arises as an answer to the insufficiency of traditional financial report and the emergent need to disclose non-financial information to stakeholders, and it is proposed by the International Integrated Reporting Council. Given the influence of corporate governance on corporate disclosure and the key role of the companies’ board of directors in managing the disclosure of a wide range of information, the present study aims to analyze how some corporate governance characteristics may influence the reputation of integrated reports, distinguishing between reference reports and regular reports. The sample of this study comprises 374 reporters extracted from the IIRC Examples Database. The results show that the size and the experience of the board of directors does not influence the reputation of the integrated reports. In turn, the independence of the board and gender diversity influence positively the reputation of integrated reports, while role duality seems to influence negatively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thromboembolic Complications During Endovascular Treatment of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms - Prevention and Therapy

As complicações tromboembólicas são as mais frequentemente reportadas durante a terapêutica endovascular de aneurismas intracranianos com espiras metálicas. A frequência deste tipo de complicação varia na literatura, contudo autores referem uma incidência entre 2,5 e 28%. Diversos mecanismos poderão estar envolvidos na formação e migração do trombo: pode ser já preexistente no interior do aneurisma a tratar e deslocar-se para o vaso portador; pode formar-se de novo na superfície das espiras ou dos cateteres utilizados; ou ainda no eventual colo residual se o grau de oclusão não for completo. Estudos demonstraram maior incidência de complicações tromboembólicas em aneurismas de colo largo. Neste trabalho discutimos a importância e justificação de medidas utilizadas na prevenção de complicações tromboembólicas durante e após a terapêutica endovascular de aneurismas rotos intra-cranianos. Referem-se ainda as opções e estratégias a adoptar na eventualidade de uma oclusão vascular ser detectada durante o procedimento, como a administração de inibidores da glicoproteina IIb/IIIa ou mesmo a libertação de stents intra-cranianos. Diversos casos exemplificativos são exibidos. A prevenção de complicações tromboembólicas e a rápida actuação perante a oclusão vascular são essenciais para a melhoria do prognóstico dos doentes submetidos a terapêutica endovascular de aneurismas rotos. O conhecimento profundo das opções disponíveis é essencial para a persecução desse objectivo

Knowledge and attitude towards the gradual reduction of salt in bread – an online survey

Aim: Assess knowledge and attitude towards the gradual reduction of salt in bread and the potential impact on eating habits of children (6-18 years) and their families, as part as a Health Impact Assessment pilot study.N/

Stress, anxiety and depression in dental students: Impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 pandemic

Introduction: With the emergence of COVID-19, dental medicine students were faced with a new reality, as a modification of the learning methods in Dentistry colleges happened. The aim of this study was to characterise the possible effects of Covid-19 pandemic in terms of anxiety, depression, and stress among students of dentistry. Matherials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2020 and May 2021. A total of 1115 participants from a total of approximately 3000 students from the seven university institutions that teach the master's degree in dentistry in Portugal, agreed to participate. An online self-reported questionnaire was applied through Google Forms® platform. The questionnaire was divided in three sections: the students' sociodemographic characterisation, pedagogical aspects, and questions about anxiety, depression, and stress using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress-21 Scale. Results: Normal levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, were found in 41%, 36.7%, and 22.7% of the participants, respectively. Being female was the most significant and strong predictor of anxiety and stress, and for depression, not feeling fulfilled in the course they were in was the most significant variable. Conclusion: The participants presented high values of anxiety, depression, and stress, during the pandemic state. Gender and not feeling fulfilled in the course were important predictors. © 2022 The Authors. European Journal of Dental Education published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Dorsal root ganglion macrophages contribute to both the initiation and persistence of neuropathic pain.

Paralleling the activation of dorsal horn microglia after peripheral nerve injury is a significant expansion and proliferation of macrophages around injured sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Here we demonstrate a critical contribution of DRG macrophages, but not those at the nerve injury site, to both the initiation and maintenance of the mechanical hypersensitivity that characterizes the neuropathic pain phenotype. In contrast to the reported sexual dimorphism in the microglial contribution to neuropathic pain, depletion of DRG macrophages reduces nerve injury-induced mechanical hypersensitivity and expansion of DRG macrophages in both male and female mice. However, fewer macrophages are induced in the female mice and deletion of colony-stimulating factor 1 from sensory neurons, which prevents nerve injury-induced microglial activation and proliferation, only reduces macrophage expansion in male mice. Finally, we demonstrate molecular cross-talk between axotomized sensory neurons and macrophages, revealing potential peripheral DRG targets for neuropathic pain management

Mixed-effects height prediction model for Juniperus procera trees from a Dry Afromontane Forest in Ethiopia.

Tree height is a crucial variable in forestry science. In the current study, an accurate height prediction model for Juniperus procera Hochst. ex Endl. trees were developed, using a nonlinear mixed-effects modeling approach on 1215 observations from 101 randomly established plots in the Chilimo Dry Afromontane Forest in Ethiopia. After comparing 14 nonlinear models, the most appropriate base model was selected and expanded as a mixed-effects model, using the sample plot as a grouping factor, and adding stand-level variables to increase the model’s prediction ability. Using a completely independent dataset of observations, the best sampling alternative for calibration was determined using goodness-of-fit criteria. Our findings revealed that the Michaelis–Menten model outperformed the other models, while the expansion to the mixed-effects model significantly improved the height prediction. On the other hand, incorporating the quadratic mean diameter and the stem density slightly improved the model’s prediction ability. The fixed-effects of the selected model can also be used to predict the mean height of Juniperus procera trees as a marginal solution. The calibration response revealed that a systematic selection of the three largest-diameter trees at the plot level is the most effective for random effect estimation across new plots or stands

Forest research institutions and Caçador Model Forest: integrating local knowledge and scientific approaches to enhance rural livelihoods in Southern Brazil.

Edição dos abstracts do 24º IUFRO World Congress, 2014, Salt Lake City. Sustaining forests, sustaining people: the role of research

Effects of the rainy season on growth of Mimosa tenuiflora in dry tropical forest, Brazil.

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