A Sustainability Disclosure Index Using Corporate Sustainability Reports

Background: There are already many indices such as Bloomberg’s environmental-and-social governance (ESG) ratings and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DSJI), which use proprietary methods to rate companies using private and publicly available information processed with proprietary methods. This paper seeks to develop a formative index for researchers and practitioners using only publicly available sustainability reports with a transparent procedure. Methods: Thirty-two indicators, obtained in an earlier study from the literature, GRI, and other sources, were adopted. The sustainability report of each of 331 companies was then scored on a discrete 0–3 scale for each indicator as regards disclosure. The index for the company then is simply a summation of the indicator scores. Tests were conducted to see if the index can be (a) used for companies with different revenues and from different sectors and (b) tested for explaining DJSI or ESG ratings. Results: The index can be used for companies with a wide range of revenues and from different sectors. Despite its simplicity, the disclosure index significantly explains the DJSI and ESG. Conclusions: A disclosure index for companies has been developed here using only their publicly available sustainability reports, unlike existing indices like the DJSI that use public and private information and proprietary methods. Researchers and financial institutions can use this index or develop their own indices by refining the methodology presented here

Consumer acceptance of novel fruits and fruit products

This report presents results of the consumer survey that was conducted in November, 2009, in four European countries – Poland, the Netherlands, Greece and Spain within WP 1.3 of ISAFRUIT Project. In the current deliverables (D1.3.5 and D1.3.8), the authors first focused on the influence of personal characteristics of the respondents, the evaluation of general fruit product characteristics, product evaluations of specific novel fresh fruits and fruit products and demographics on consumers' acceptance of fruit innovations. Furthermore, they identified cross cultural consumer segments, who each value different product characteristics. Moreover, these consumer segments differ in demographics, their willingness to accept fruit innovations and their personal characteristics. Policy recommendations for future product development of fresh fruits and fruit products and communication strategies were formulated, based on the results of the consumer survey and the identified cross cultural consumer segments

Compensation in Preclinical Huntington's Disease: Evidence From the Track-On HD Study

BACKGROUND: Cognitive and motor task performance in premanifest Huntington's disease (HD) gene-carriers is often within normal ranges prior to clinical diagnosis, despite loss of brain volume in regions involved in these tasks. This indicates ongoing compensation, with the brain maintaining function in the presence of neuronal loss. However, thus far, compensatory processes in HD have not been modeled explicitly. Using a new model, which incorporates individual variability related to structural change and behavior, we sought to identify functional correlates of compensation in premanifest-HD gene-carriers. METHODS: We investigated the modulatory effects of regional brain atrophy, indexed by structural measures of disease load, on the relationship between performance and brain activity (or connectivity) using task-based and resting-state functional MRI. FINDINGS: Consistent with compensation, as atrophy increased performance-related activity increased in the right parietal cortex during a working memory task. Similarly, increased functional coupling between the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and a left hemisphere network in the resting-state predicted better cognitive performance as atrophy increased. Such patterns were not detectable for the left hemisphere or for motor tasks. INTERPRETATION: Our findings provide evidence for active compensatory processes in premanifest-HD for cognitive demands and suggest a higher vulnerability of the left hemisphere to the effects of regional atrophy

Differential Prox-1 and CD 31 expression in mucousae, cutaneous and soft tissue vascular lesions and tumors

The study of lymphatic vessels and lymphatic tumors has been hampered with difficulty due to the overlapping morphological features between blood and lymphatic endothelial cells, as well as to the lack of specific lymphatic endothelial markers. Over the last few years, lymphatic vessels and lymphangiogenesis have received great attention owing to their putative implications in terms of metastatic dissemination and the promise of targets for lymphangiogenic therapy. Prox-1 is a nuclear transcription factor that plays a major role during embryonic lymphangiogenesis and is deemed to be a useful marker for differentiating lymphatic endothelial cells from the other blood vessels endothelial cells. Here, we describe a double-immunostaining strategy for formalin-fixed, paraffinembedded tissues that aims at evaluating the distribution of Prox-1 and CD 31 – a cytoplasmic pan-endothelial marker -in a series of 28 mucousae, cutaneous and soft tissue vascular lesions and tumors, including hemangiomas, lymphangiomas, lymphangiectasia, and Kaposi’s sarcomas. Our results showed that in non-lesional mucousae and skin, Prox-1 decorated exclusively the nuclei of endothelial cells in lymphatic vessels. Prox-1 stained almost all the benign lymphatic vascular lesions/tumors (91%) and was absent or only focally positive in 75% of blood vascular tumors. CD 31 stained endothelial cells of blood vessels of superficial and deep dermal plexuses, lymphatics, and all blood vascular lesions/tumors. Kaposi’s sarcomas were all positive for both CD 31 and Prox-1 markers. In conclusion, although Prox-1 expression in vascular lesions/tumors was not entirely restricted to tumors with known lymphatic differentiation, CD 31/Prox-1 double-immunolabeling can be used as an adjunct marker to identify lymphatic vessels in routinely processed formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples

Inequities in energy-balance related behaviours and family environmental determinants in European children : baseline results of the prospective EPHE evaluation study

Background: Tackling inequalities in overweight, obesity and related determinants has become a top priority for the European research and policy agendas. Although it has been established that such inequalities accumulate from early childhood onward, they have not been studied extensively in children. The current article discusses the results of an explorative analysis for the identification of inequalities in behaviours and their determinants between groups with high and low socio-economic status. Methods: This study is part of the Epode for the Promotion of Health Equity (EPHE) evaluation study, the overall aim of which is to assess the impact and sustainability of EPODE methodology to diminish inequalities in childhood obesity and overweight. Seven community-based programmes from different European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Portugal, Romania, The Netherlands) participate in the EPHE study. In each of the communities, children aged 6-8 years participated, resulting in a total sample of 1266 children and their families. A parental self-administrated questionnaire was disseminated in order to assess the socio-economic status of the household, selected energy balance-related behaviours (1. fruit and vegetable consumption; 2. soft drink/fruit juices and water consumption; 3. screen time and 4. sleep duration) of the children and associated family environmental determinants. The Mann-Whitney U test and Pearson's chi-square test were used to test differences between the low and high education groups. The country-specific median was chosen as the cut-off point to determine the educational level, given the different average educational level in every country. Results: Children with mothers of relatively high educational level consumed fruits and vegetables more frequently than their peers of low socio-economic status. The latter group of children had a higher intake of fruit juices and/or soft drinks and had higher screen time. Parental rules and home availability were consistently different between the two socio-economic groups in our study in all countries. However we did not find a common pattern for all behaviours and the variability across the countries was large. Conclusions: Our findings are indicative of socio-economic inequalities in our samples, although the variability across the countries was large. The effectiveness of interventions aimed at chancing parental rules and behaviour on health inequalities should be studied

Reference intervals for canine hematologic analytes using Siemens ADVIA 120

Η γενική εξέταση του αίματος (ΓΕΑ) θεωρείται μείζονος σημασίας για την εκτίμηση του επιπέδου υγείας των ζώων συντροφιάς. Ωστόσο, για την ορθή ερμηνεία των εργαστηριακών αποτελεσμάτων απαιτούνται ακριβείς τιμές αναφοράς. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό, ο πρωταρχικός στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας ήταν η εξαγωγή τιμών αναφοράς για τις παραμέτρους της ΓΕΑ στον σκύλο, με τη βοήθεια του Advia 120, ενός, ευρέως χρησιμοποιούμενου στην κτηνιατρική, αυτόματου αιματολογικού αναλυτή. Δευτερευόντως, διερευνήσαμε εάν απαιτείται διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ με βάση το φύλο των σκύλων, καθώς και αν το μέγεθος της φυλής μπορεί να επηρεάσει τις τιμές αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ. Τα ζώα επιλέχθηκαν από το ιατρικό αρχείο της πανεπιστημιακής κλινικής ζώων συντροφιάς του Τμήματος Κτηνιατρικής του Α.Π.Θ. Τον παραπάνω πληθυσμό αποτελούσαν 284 αρσενικοί και θηλυκοί σκύλοι διαφόρων φυλών. Το σύνολο των σκύλων ταξινομήθηκε σε 3 ομάδες με βάση το μέγεθος της φυλής (μικρού, μεσαίου, μεγάλου). Οι τιμές αναφοράς υπολογίστηκαν μη παραμετρικά, χρησιμοποιώντας τα αποτελέσματα της ΓΕΑ των σκύλων που πληρούσαν τα κριτήρια ένταξης στη μελέτη. Προκειμένου να αποφασιστεί εάν απαιτείται ο διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ με βάση το φύλο, εφαρμόστηκαν τόσο στατιστικά όσο και μη στατιστικά κριτήρια. Ανάλογα με την κατανομή των δεδομένων πραγματοποιήθηκε σύγκριση μέσων ή διαμέσων, με σκοπό να ελεγχθεί η πιθανή επίδραση του μεγέθους της φυλής στις τιμές της ΓΕΑ. Εννέα ζώα αποκλείστηκαν από τη μελέτη, λόγω της ύπαρξης φανερώς ακραίων τιμών στη ΓΕΑ. Σε γενικές γραμμές, οι τιμές αναφοράς που υπολογίστηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία είναι παρόμοιες με αυτές που αναφέρονται στη διεθνή βιβλιογραφία. Επιπλέον, με βάση την εφαρμογή των στατιστικών κριτηρίων, υποδεικνύεται ότι για κάποιες παραμέτρους της ΓΕΑ απαιτούνται διαφορετικές τιμές αναφοράς για τα δύο φύλα. Παρόλα αυτά, από κλινικοεργαστηριακής απόψεως, ο διαχωρισμός των τιμών αναφοράς αμφισβητείται και πιθανώς δεν είναι αναγκαίος. Επίδραση του μεγέθους της φυλής παρατηρήθηκε στις τιμές αναφοράς της ΓΕΑ. Οι τιμές αναφοράς που παρουσιάζονται στην παρούσα εργασία μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν ως οδηγός για την ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων της ΓΕΑ στους σκύλους και να «υιοθετηθούν» από κτηνιατρικά εργαστήρια που χρησιμοποιούν τον αιματολογικό αναλυτή Advia 120. Τέλος, με βάση τα αποτελέσματά μας, το μέγεθος της φυλής θα πρέπει, πιθανώς, να λαμβάνεται υπ’ όψιν κατά την ερμηνεία των αποτελεσμάτων της ΓΕΑ.Hematologic investigation is essential for the evaluation of health status of companion animals. Appropriate and accurate reference intervals (RIs) are required for the interpretation of laboratory results. Thus, the primary aim of the present study was to establish canine complete blood count (CBC) RIs using Advia 120, a widely used in veterinary medicine automated hematology analyzer. Additional objectives were to evaluate sex as a partitioning factor of RIs and to investigate the effect that breed size has on CBC RIs. Reference individuals were selected by indirect sampling method from the medical records of a veterinary teaching hospital. The reference population comprised 284 adult dogs of both sexes and various breeds. The reference individuals were allocated into 3 groups based on breed size (small-sized, medium-sized and large-sized breeds). Complete blood count results from the dogs that met the inclusion criteria were used for the nonparametric calculation of RIs. Statistical and nonstatistical criteria were employed in order to decide whether sex-specific RIs are needed. Depending on the data distributions, mean or median comparisons were used to determine the effect of breed size and lifestyle on CBC results. Nine outliers were detected based on CBC results. The estimated RIs were generally comparable to those previously reported in the literature. Sex-dependent partitioning of RIs was indicated by the statistical criteria for a few analytes. From a clinicopathologic point of view though, sex-dependent partitioning of RIs is questioned and seems not to be required. Breed size appears to have an effect on CBC RIs. The RIs determined in the present study can be used as a guide for the interpretation of CBC results in dogs and can potentially be adopted by veterinary laboratories using Advia 120. Finally, based on the results of this study, breed size should probably be considered when interpreting CBC results

1-(5-Chloro-2,4-dihydroxy­phen­yl)-2-(4-ethoxy­phen­yl)ethanone

The structure of the title compound, C16H15ClO4, contains aryl rings which are inclined by 75.6 (1)° to each other. It displays intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the 2-hydr­oxy and carbonyl groups, forming a six-membered ring. Furthermore, the 4-hydr­oxy group, acting as a hydrogen-bond donor, is bound to the O atom of the 2-hydr­oxy group of another mol­ecule

Developing a typology of interventions to support doctors’ mental health and wellbeing

Background: The problem of mental ill-health in doctors is complex, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and impacts on healthcare provision and broader organisational performance. There are many interventions to address the problem but currently no systematic way to categorise them, which makes it hard to describe and compare interventions. As a result, implementation tends to be unfocussed and fall short of the standards developed for implementing complex healthcare interventions. This study aims to develop: 1) a conceptual typology of workplace mental health and wellbeing interventions and 2) a mapping tool to apply the typology within research and practice. Methods: Typology development was based on iterative cycles of analysis of published and in-practice interventions, incorporation of relevant theories and frameworks, and team and stakeholder group discussions. Results: The newly developed typology and mapping tool enable interventions to be conceptualised and/or mapped into different categories, for example whether they are designed to be largely preventative (by either improving the workplace or increasing personal resources) or to resolve problems after they have arisen. Interventions may be mapped across more than one category to reflect the nuance and complexity in many mental health and wellbeing interventions. Mapping of interventions indicated that most publications have not clarified their underlying assumptions about what causes outcomes or the theoretical basis for the intervention. Conclusion: The conceptual typology and mapping tool aims to raise the quality of future research and promote clear thinking about the nature and purpose of interventions, In doing so it aims to support future research and practice in planning interventions to improve the mental health and wellbeing of doctors

TRIPLE C reporting principles for case study evaluations of the role of context in complex interventions

Background Guidance and reporting principles such as CONSORT (for randomised trials) and PRISMA (for systematic reviews) have greatly improved the reporting, discoverability, transparency and consistency of published research. We sought to develop similar guidance for case study evaluations undertaken to explore the influence of context on the processes and outcomes of complex interventions. Methods A range of experts were recruited to an online Delphi panel, sampling for maximum diversity in disciplines (e.g. public health, health services research, organisational studies), settings (e.g. country), and sectors (e.g. academic, policy, third sector). To inform panel deliberations, we prepared background materials based on: [a] a systematic meta-narrative review of empirical and methodological literatures on case study, context and complex interventions; [b] the collective experience of a network of health systems and public health researchers; and [c] the established RAMESES II standards (which cover one kind of case study). We developed a list of topics and issues based on these sources and encouraged panel members to provide free text comments. Their feedback informed development of a set of items in the form of questions for potential inclusion in the reporting principles. We circulated these by email, asking panel members to rank each potential item twice (for relevance and validity) on a 7-point Likert scale. This sequence was repeated twice. Results We recruited 51 panel members from 50 organisations across 12 countries, who brought experience of a range of case study research methods and applications. 26 completed all three Delphi rounds, reaching over 80% consensus on 16 items covering title, abstract, definitions of terms, philosophical assumptions, research question(s), rationale, how context and complexity relates to the intervention, ethical approval, empirical methods, findings, use of theory, generalisability and transferability, researcher perspective and influence, conclusions and recommendations, and funding and conflicts of interest. Conclusion The ‘Triple C’ (Case study, Context, Complex interventions) reporting principles recognise that case studies are undertaken in different ways for different purposes and based on different philosophical assumptions. They are designed to be enabling rather than prescriptive, and to make case study evaluation reporting on context and complex health interventions more comprehensive, accessible and useable