The effect of corruption and culture on mandatory disclosure compliance levels: goodwill reporting in Europe

While responding to calls for research and regulatory concerns regarding the influence of country level characteristics on the completeness and quality of financial statements, we examine the simultaneous influences of corruption and culture on levels of compliance with mandatory disclosure requirements. We use a panel dataset of European companies, for 2008–2011, and measure compliance with IFRS goodwill disclosure requirements utilising a disclosure index. Corruption is measured using the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and Schwartz (2008) bipolar cultural dimensions are used as measures of culture. We find that compliance levels vary significantly across sample firms, countries and over time. The level of corruption and two of the three cultural dimensions (Hierarchy and Mastery) are significantly related to these levels of compliance. These findings also hold for the changes in compliance levels over time. On that basis, the paper makes original contributions to our understanding of determinants of compliance levels with IFRS mandatory disclosure requirements

A OXIGENOTERAPIA HIPERBÁRICA E A OZONIOTERAPIA INTEGRADAS AO TRATAMENTO DE INFECÇÃO CRÔNICA POR ACINETOBACTER SP. EM GATO VÍTIMA DE MAUS TRATOS - RELATO DE CASO

Infecções bacterianas multirresistentes emergem como um pesadelo para a saúde pública mundial. Na medicina veterinária sua ocorrência não está bem estabelecida, mas fatores que contri­buem para sua incidência em humanos também estão se tornando comuns nos animais, como o aumento de cuidados intensivos, cirurgias complexas bem como o uso indiscriminado de antimicrobianos e fármacos imunossupressores. O acenitobacter sp. ganhou visibilidade pelo número de surtos em humanos e sua alta letalidade, recebendo como protocolo de tratamento uma terapia tipicamente empírica, com diversos fármacos para infecções graves. Neste trabalho, objetivou-se descrever a utilização da oxigenoterapia hiperbárica e a ozonioterapia como terapias integrativas ao protocolo antimicrobiano específico a esta estirpe bacteriana e a avaliação de seus efeitos durante as 20 sessões realizadas em gato vítima de trauma por projétil de arma de fogo, com fratura consolidada, mas com colonização do ferimento pelo acinetobacter sp. caracterizada por fístulas indolentes e inflamação do membro torácico, em processo de cronicidade de 3 anos, com diversas abordagens terapeuticas. Concluiu-se que a utilização da oxigenoterapia hiperbárica associada a ozonioterapia ajudaram na efetiva atuação no combate à inflamação e ao agente infeccioso, promovendo de forma diferenciada e precoce a cicatrização do membro, restabelecendo a funcionalidade ao doente, deste modo casos seriados devem ser continuados

Is accounting enforcement related to risk-taking in the banking industry?

Using a sample of banks from 36 countries, we document that accounting enforcement is negatively related to bank risk-taking. We also provide evidence that accounting enforcement enhances bank stability during the crisis. In addition, we show that banks assume less risk through more conservative lending decisions and a reduction in complexity in jurisdictions with higher accounting enforcement. Our results show that formal institutions such as accounting enforcement are associated with bank financial decisions and risk-taking behavior

Experimental characterization of leak detection systems in HLM pool using LIFUS5/Mod3 facility

In the framework of the European Union MAXSIMA project, the safety of the steam generator (SG) adopted in the primary loop of the Heavy Liquid Metal Fast Reactor has been studied investigating the consequences and damage propagation of a SG tube rupture event and characterizing leak rates from typical cracks. Instrumentation able to promptly detect the presence of a crack in the SG tubes may be used to prevent its further propagation, which would lead to a full rupture of the tube. Application of the leak-before-break concept is relevant for improving the safety of a reactor system and decreasing the probability of a pipe break event. In this framework, a new experimental campaign (Test Series C) has been carried out in the LIFUS5/Mod3 facility, installed at ENEA Centro Ricerche Brasimone, in order to characterize and to correlate the leak rate through typical cracks occurring in the pressurized tubes with signals detected by proper transducers. Test C1.3_60 was executed injecting water at about 20 bars and 200°C into lead-bismuth eutectic alloy. The injection was performed through a laser microholed plate 60 μm in diameter. Analysis of the thermohydraulic data permitted characterization of the leakage through typical cracks that can occur in the pressurized tubes of the SG. Analysis of the data acquired by microphones and accelerometers highlighted that it is possible to correlate the signals to the leakage and the rate of release

Attitudes of nursing home staff towards influenza vaccination: opinions and factors influencing hesitancy

Seasonal influenza is recognized to be a significant public health problem and a cause of death, especially in fragile persons. In nursing homes (NHs), vaccination for both residents and staff is the best preventive strategy. However, professionals\u2019 immunization rates are far from reaching the international recommended values. This study aims to describe the adherence and attitudes of NH staff towards flu vaccination and to explore staff hesitancy. A questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and on the 3Cs (confidence, complacency, convenience) of the WHO framework and administered among the staff of four NHs of a province in the northeast of Italy. Results demonstrated a low adherence towards annual vaccination (i.e., only 3% declared getting the flu vaccination each year). Complacency, confidence and convenience all showed a significant impact on the attitude towards vaccination both in univariate and multivariable analysis, with complacency being the most strongly associated area. The area of confidence resulted in strongly challenging factors. Only 24.8% of interviewees appeared trustful towards the efficacy of receiving immunization and 34% declared safety issues. Insights from the study can support the implementation of effective interventions to improve vaccination adherence in NHs. Specifically, increasing complacency by raising awareness related to the risks of influenza appears to be an essential strategy to effectively promote vaccination uptake

Oral Feeding Competences of Healthy Preterm Infants: A Review

Background. With increasing sophistication and technology, survival rates hugely improved among preterm infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Nutrition and feeding remain a challenge and preterm infants are at high risk of encountering oral feeding difficulties. Objective. To determine what facts may impact on oral feeding readiness and competence and which kind of interventions should enhance oral feeding performance in preterm infants. Search Strategy. MEDILINE database was explored and articles relevant to this topic were collected starting from 2009 up to 2011. Main Results. Increasingly robust alertness prior to and during feeding does positively impact the infant's feeding Skills. The review found that oral and non-oral sensorimotor interventions, provided singly or in combination, shortened the transition time to independent oral feeding in preterm infants and that preterm infants who received a combined oral and sensorimotor intervention demonstrated more advanced nutritive sucking, suck-swallow and swallow-respiration coordination than those who received an oral or sensorimotor intervention singly

Effectiveness and acceptability of psycho-education group intervention for people hospitalized in psychiatric wards and nurses

Objective: To assess effectiveness and acceptability of a Psycho-education Group Intervention (PGI) on a sample of patients admitted to a Psychiatric Inpatient Unit (PIU) and on ward nurses. Methods: Case-control study. PGI was delivered according to the model of Vendittelli and colleagues (2008). Male and female patients aged 18-70 were eligible. Cases attended the PGI, while controls did not. A 5-item ad hoc Likert-scale was used to record ward atmosphere. The Italian version of the Simple Feedback Question Form for people attending Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Group (SFQF-CBTG) was administered to each patient before discharge. The primary outcome was readmission rate after 6 months from discharge, secondary outcomes were ratings of ward atmosphere by nurses and feed-back from people hospitalized. All Statistics were performed with STATA 13.1. Results: Fifty-two patients were enrolled, 17 cases and 35 controls. No significant differences emerged in the primary outcome, though compulsory readmissions were noticeable only among controls. Ratings of ward atmosphere in relation to group activities did not differ. Seventeen SFQF-CBTG were filled in. Most cases reported at discharge to have found the group "helpful", stating that "they would attend it in the future again", and "group topics were not difficult". Conclusions: No evidence emerged in favour or against effectiveness of the PGI for patients and ward nurses, though the intervention was rated as acceptable and feasible

Deciphering ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm hemodynamics in relation to biomechanical properties

The degeneration of the arterial wall at the basis of the ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA) is a complex multifactorial process, which may lead to clinical complications and, ultimately, death. Individual genetic, biological or hemodynamic factors are inadequate to explain the heterogeneity of ATAA development/progression mechanisms, thus stimulating the analysis of their complex interplay. Here the disruption of the hemodynamic environment in the ATAA is investigated integrating patient-specific computational hemodynamics, CT-based in vivo estimation of local aortic stiffness and advanced fluid mechanics methods of analysis. The final aims are (1) deciphering the ATAA spatiotemporal hemodynamic complexity and its link to near-wall topological features, and (2) identifying the existing links between arterial wall degeneration and hemodynamic insult. Technically, two methodologies are applied to computational hemodynamics data, the wall shear stress (WSS) topological skeleton analysis, and the Complex Networks theory. The same analysis was extended to the healthy aorta. As main findings of the study, we report that: (1) different spatiotemporal heterogeneity characterizes the ATAA and healthy hemodynamics, that markedly reflect on their WSS topological skeleton features; (2) a link (stronger than canonical WSS-based descriptors) emerges between the variation of contraction/expansion action exerted by WSS on the endothelium along the cardiac cycle, and ATAA wall stiffness. The findings of the study suggest the use of advanced methods for a deeper understanding of the hemodynamics disruption in ATAA, and candidate WSS topological skeleton features as promising indicators of local wall degeneration

Chemokines in hyperthyroidism

The term “hyperthyroidism” indicates a condition due to an exaggerate production of thyroid hormone; the most frequent cause is Graves’ disease (GD). We review cytokines and chemokines in hyperthyroidism, with a special focus in GD. In GD, recruited Th1 lymphocytes are responsible for enhanced IFN-γ and TNF-α production, which in turn stimulates Th1 chemokines release from thyrocytes, initiating and perpetuating the autoimmune process. Circulating levels of these chemokines are associated with the active phase of GD. Additional studies are necessary to investigate whether Th1 chemokines could be a novel therapeutic target in this disease