The transcription factor Kruppel homolog 1 is linked to the juvenile hormone-dependent maturation of sexual behavior in the male moth, Agrotis ipsilon

In the male moth, Agrotis ipsilon, the behavioral response and neuronal sensitivity in the primary olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL), to sex pheromone increase with age and juvenile hormone (JH) biosynthesis. Although JH has been shown to control this age-dependent plasticity, the underlying signaling pathway remains obscure. In this context, we cloned a full cDNA encoding the Kruppel homolog 1 transcription factor (AipsKr-h1) of A. ipsilon, which was found to be predominantly expressed in ALs, where its amount increased concomitantly with age and sex pheromone responses. Conversely, the expression of AipsKr-h1 protein in the antenna was age-independent. Moreover, the administration of JH in immature males or fluvastatin, an inhibitor of JH biosynthesis, in mature males induced an increase or a decline of the AipsKr-h1 protein level in ALs, respectively. This effect was suppressed with a combined injection of fluvastatin and JH. Our results showed that Aipskr-h1 is a JH-upregulated gene that might mediate JH action on central pheromone processing, modulating sexual behavior in A. ipsilon

Synaptotagmin I, a molecular target for steroid hormone signaling controlling the maturation of sexual behavior in an insect

As in vertebrates, the insect steroid hormones, especially 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E), initiate and regulate sexual behavior by acting on the central nervous system. This 20E action is, in part, triggered by transcriptional events mediated through the binding of 20E to a heterodimer comprising the ecdysone receptor (EcR) and ultraspiracle (USP). However, to date, our knowledge about this genomic steroid pathway remains incomplete. In moths, males detect female sex pheromones, eliciting stereotyped sexual behavior. In Agrotis ipsilon males, the behavioral response and the neuronal sensitivity to sex pheromone in the olfactory center, the antennal lobe (AL), increase with age. We recently showed that 20E controlled this age-dependent olfactory plasticity via the activation of an EcR/USP-dependent pathway in the AL. Here, we cloned the gene encoding A. ipsilon synaptotagmin I (AisytI), a presynaptic vesicle protein known to act as a calcium sensor in neurotransmitter release. AisytI was expressed in the AL, where its amount increased with age, whereas its knockdown inhibited the sex pheromone-oriented flight of males. 20E administration to males induced AL AisytI expression in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Moreover, A. ipsilon EcR silencing caused decreases in AL AisytI expression and the behavioral response to sex pheromone. Our results show that the synaptotagmin I gene is a target gene for the genomic steroid signaling that controls the expression of insect sexual behavior by acting on central sex pheromone processing. This study thus represents a significant advance in our understanding of the steroid actions that influence neural functions, and thereby behavioral plasticity, in various organisms

Strategic plan presentations to financial analysts: the effects on earnings forecasts’ revision

2nonenoneBozzolan, Saverio; Mazzola, PietroBozzolan, Saverio; Mazzola, PIETRO ALBERICO C

A framework for the analysis of risk disclosure

In this paper, we propose a framework for the analysis of risk communication and an index to measure the quality of risk disclosure. Mainstream literature on voluntary disclosure has emphasized that quantity can be used as a sound proxy for quality. We contend that, in the analysis of the disclosure of risks made by public companies, attention has to be paid not only to how much is disclosed but also to what is disclosed and how. We apply the framework to a sample of nonfinancial companies listed in the ordinary market on the Italian Stock Exchange. To verify that the framework and synthetic index are not influenced by the two factors recognized in the literature as the most powerful drivers of disclosure behavior for listed companies, we use an OLS model. The regression shows that the index of disclosure quantity is not influenced either by size or industry. Thus, the synthetic measure can be used to rank the quality of the disclosure of risks

A framework for the analysis of risk disclosure

none2In this paper, we propose a framework for the analysis of risk communication and an index to measure the quality of risk disclosure. Mainstream literature on voluntary disclosure has emphasized that quantity can be used as a sound proxy for quality. We contend that, in the analysis of the disclosure of risks made by public companies, attention has to be paid not only to how much is disclosed but also to what is disclosed and how. We apply the framework to a sample of nonfinancial companies listed in the ordinary market on the Italian Stock Exchange. To verify that the framework and synthetic index are not influenced by the two factors recognized in the literature as the most powerful drivers of disclosure behavior for listed companies, we use an OLS model. The regression shows that the index of disclosure quantity is not influenced either by size or industry. Thus, the synthetic measure can be used to rank the quality of the disclosure of risks.mixedBOZZOLAN S.; BERETTA S.Bozzolan, Saverio; Beretta, S

Gli indicatori di Processo nel governo dei rischi aziendali

Analisi delle relazioni fra rischi e processi di busines

Quantity vs Quality: the case of Forward Looking Disclosure

Empirical studies do not make a clear distinction between the quantity and quality of disclosure. As it is generally assumed that the quantity of information has an implication in determining its quality, quantity measures are often used as proxy for disclosure quality. Nonetheless the measurement of the quality of disclosure is recognized as a relevant question that is still open and the importance of developing measures of disclosure quality is emphasised in literature. This paper disputes the idea that the quantity of disclosure is a sound proxy for the quality of disclosure. The adoption of multidimensional frameworks for the appreciation of disclosure is discussed and an index for quality disclosure is proposed. Moving from the assumption that high quality information should usefully support external users in the judgement of past and future performance, we hypothesize that high quality disclosure is positively associated with accuracy and negatively associated with the dispersion of analysts’ earnings forecasts. We show analytically that the proposed framework captures dimensions of annual report disclosure that are considered useful by financial analysts in forecasting earnings and that the proposed measure of disclosure quality has a stronger positive statistical association with accuracy and a stronger negative association with the dispersion of financial analysts’ earnings forecasts than a simple index of disclosure quantity has