The challenge of sustainable development goal reporting: The first evidence from italian listed companies

This research investigates the extent to which the voluntary disclosure of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), assumed to be the most recent innovation in social disclosures and corporate sustainability reporting, is diffused among Italian listed companies through different instruments of disclosure (voluntary or non-voluntary). Our findings reveal that SDGs awareness amongst the business community is high and that the majority of highly-traded, liquid, and highly-capitalized Italian companies have introduced SDGs in their disclosure and story-telling practices, while the exact nature and requirements of the SDGs, and the definitions of specific key performance indicators (KPIs) related to those goals, are still missing. Italian companies prefer using non-financial statements and sustainability reports to disclose information about their commitments to SDGs, and most of them started to report information about SDGs in 2016. Additionally, this research seeks to identify the significant differences between SDG reporters in different sectors, under the assumption that operating in a specific sector could significantly affect a company's decision to disclose information on their SDGs. This research highlights, following the recent evolution of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure and sustainability reporting, the increasing relevance of SDGs in Italian companies' disclosure practices and, at the same time, the gaps to be covered for their effective implementation

Arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus in covid-19 patients: What is known by gender differences?

Background. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected >160 million people around the world. Hypertension (HT), chronic heart disease (CHD), and diabetes mellitus (DM) increase susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Aims. We designed this retrospective study to assess the gender differences in hypertensive diabetic SARS-CoV-2 patients. We reported data, by gender differences, on the inflammatory status, on the hospital stays, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, Rx and CT report, and therapy. Methods. We enrolled 1014 patients with confirmed COVID-19 admitted into different Hospitals of Campania from 26 March to 30 June, 2020. All patients were allocated into two groups: diabetic-hypertensive group (DM-HT group) that includes 556 patients affected by diabetes mellitus and arterial hypertension and the non-diabetic-non-hypertensive group (non-DM, non-HT group) comprising 458 patients. The clinical outcomes (i.e., discharges, mortality, length of stay, therapy, and admission to intensive care) were monitored up to June 30, 2020. Results. We described, in the DM-HT group, higher proportion of cardiopathy ischemic (CHD) (47.5% vs. 14.8%, respectively; p < 0.0001) and lung diseases in females compared to male subjects (34.8% vs. 18.5%, respectively; p < 0.0001). In male subjects, we observed higher proportion of kidney diseases (CKD) (11% vs. 0.01%, respectively; p < 0.0001), a higher hospital stay compared to female subjects (22 days vs. 17 days, respectively, p < 0.0001), a higher admission in ICU (66.9% vs. 12.8%, respectively, p < 0.0001), and higher death rate (17.3% vs. 10.7%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusion. These data confirm that male subjects, compared to female subjects, have a higher hospital stay, a higher admission to ICU, and higher death rate

Financial statements frauds: does their intensity have a connection with earnings management?

This study investigates the relationship between earnings management and financial statements frauds. We examine how earnings management practices; done in the two years before the fraud, impact the likelihood of fraud occurrence. Moreover, we introduce a new measure for the fraud intensity. Using a sample of 70 fraud and 70 no-fraud firms, we find that firms committing fraud of higher intensity have managed earnings in the two years before the fraud occurrence. This paper contributes to the literature about fraud antecedents because it is the first study measuring the relationship between earnings management and the intensity of the fraud, and it can be also useful for practitioners, because using the analysis of earnings management practices, analysts can foresee and prevent financial statements frauds

Role of aging on electrical, mechanical, and coronary modifications induced by ouabain and epinine in isolated rat heart

OBJECTIVE: The contractile response to digitalis and beta adrenoceptor agonists is lower in the senescent than in the adult myocardium, while the development of ventricular arrhythmias is increased. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of aging on cardiac response to digitalis and an adrenergic agonist used clinically. METHODS: The electrical and mechanical responses were tested in isolated and perfused hearts from 3-24 month old rats receiving 15 min infusion of digitalis drug (ouabain, 6 x 10(-5) M) alone, and after 5 min of beta adrenoceptor agonist drug (epinine, 1.5 x 10(-7) M). RESULTS: Ouabain action was associated with a rise in left ventricular end diastolic pressure (p < 0.01) which increased progressively with aging, and with an elevation of left ventricular developed pressure (p < 0.01) which decreased progressively with aging. Epinine induced a reduction of left ventricular end diastolic pressure (p < 0.01) and a rise in left ventricular developed pressure (p < 0.01) but both effects decreased progressively with aging. Ouabain reduced coronary flow and this decrease was more pronounced with aging (p < 0.01), while epinine caused an increase (p < 0.01) that diminished in older hearts. Ouabain given after epinine resulted in a greater increase in left ventricular end diastolic pressure than epinine (p < 0.01) but lower than that caused by ouabain alone (p < 0.01), a greater increase in left ventricular developed pressure than epinine and ouabain (p < 0.01), and a smaller reduction of coronary flow rate than ouabain alone (p < 0.01). All these effects, however, diminished progressively with aging. Arrhythmia scores were higher during ouabain than in control (p < 0.01) and in epinine treated hearts (p < 0.01); pretreatment with epinine did not modify arrhythmia score during ouabain administration. The number and severity of arrhythmias, however, increased with aging in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Aging has a negative effect on both the positive inotropic and the arrhythmogenic effects of ouabain and epinine, although these phenomena are more pronounced during ouabain administration. However, when the two drugs are given simultaneously, epinine does not modify the arrhythmogenic effect of ouabain but reduces some of its deleterious haemodynamic effects