Within the theoretical framework of socio‐political economics, and more specifically of stakeholder theory, this work examines whether companies operating under different institutional constraints and stakeholder pressure tend to emphasize different models of corporate environmental reporting. Furthermore, the paper tests whether different corporate environmental reporting policies are driven by the countries' corporate governance systems. A sample of 3931 international companies was examined through a logistic biplot and conditional mean linear regression models. The main results reveal that companies follow two distinct environmental reporting approaches, which depend on specific stakeholders and institutional requirements. The first model, which is followed by firms within codified law countries, mostly focuses on water and emissions. The second approach, mainly followed by companies operating in common law countries, emphasizes materials and energy issues. This finding reveals that companies gradually modify their environmental strategies to make themselves more compatible with the characteristics of the social and institutional environment, which will result in several corporate benefits. The paper provides several outstanding implications for companies' strategic managers, national institutions and firms' stakeholders, especially for investors and customers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

There is currently a need to develop tools to identify patients with mild AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We determined the validity and reliability of a brief, easily administered cognitive screening battery consisting of fusion of two well-known brief tests (Mini-Mental Status Examination [MMSE] and Clock Drawing Test [CDT]) (Mini-clock) to differentiate between patients with mild AD, MCI, and healthy control subjects. 66 consecutive patients with mild AD, 21 with MCI, and 66 healthy controls seen in a memory clinic setting were compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to calculate the cut-off value permitting discrimination between mild AD, MCI, and healthy control subjects. Interrater and test-retest reliability were also assessed. Mean cognitive scores for patients with AD, MCI, and control subjects on all two individual tests were significantly different (for each, p < 0.001). The mean area under the ROC curve for Mini-clock was higher than that obtained with MMSE or CDT in differentiating mild AD from controls (0.973 vs. 0.952 and 0.881, respectively) and MCI from controls (0.855 vs. 0.821 and 0.779, respectively). Test-retest reliability for the Mini-clock was 0.99, meanwhile interrater reliability was 0.87. The mean time to complete the test for all subjects was 8 min and 50 s. The Mini-clock is highly sensitive and specific in the detection of mild AD and reasonably accurate when attempting to separate MCI from health controls. It has a high interrater and test-retest reliability, can be quickly administered, and does not require major training.

increased proliferative capacity of cells expressing the exon 2 mutation. Our finding of bimodal FOXP3 expression in the carrier differs from the only other published report of a carrier with an exon 2 mutation (c.227delT) who expressed only one population of CD4 1 CD25 1 CD127 lo cells, all expressing WT FOXP3. 7 Our results are the first to confirm the natural ability of isoforms lacking exon 2 to promote their own transcription, resulting in expression of a functional isoform of FOXP3 that can support Treg cell development. In conclusion, we report a family with autoimmunity across 3 generations, including 2 affected male subjects. We have shown that a milder IPEX phenotype was due to selective deletion of FOXP3 exon 2 expression, resulting in loss of FOXP3fl but retained expression of FOXP3D2. This report confirms that FOXP3D2 can support Treg cell development in vivo and mitigate at least some of the clinical features of complete FOXP3 deficiency, as observed in patients with classic IPEX syndrome. These findings provide powerful patient-derived evidence for the functional capabilities of the FOXP3D2 isoform. The variable penetrance is important because it suggests that future patients might be identified in populations with milder autoimmunity not reaching the criteria for IPEX syndrome.

We previously demonstrated that the administration of GH immediately after severe motor cortex injury, in rats, followed by rehabilitation, improved the functionality of the affected limb and reexpressed nestin in the contralateral motor cortex. Here, we analyze whether these GH effects depend on a time window after the injury and on the reexpression of nestin and actin. Injured animals were treated with GH (0.15 mg/kg/day) or vehicle, at days 7, 14, and 35 after cortical ablation. Rehabilitation was applied at short and long term (LTR) after the lesion and then sacrificed. Nestin and actin were analyzed by immunoblotting in the contralateral motor cortex. Giving GH at days 7 or 35 after the lesion, but not 14 days after it, led to a remarkable improvement in the functionality of the affected paw. Contralateral nestin and actin reexpression was clearly higher in GH-treated animals, probably because compensatory brain plasticity was established. GH and immediate rehabilitation are key for repairing brain injuries, with the exception of a critical time period: GH treatment starting 14 days after the lesion. Our data also indicate that there is not a clear plateau in the recovery from a brain injury in agreement with our data in human patients.

The Matlab code for implementing the methods may be obtained from the web site: http://biplot.usal.es.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is the second most widespread cancer in humans and its incidence is rising. These tumours can evolve as poor-prognosis diseases, and therefore it is important to identify new markers to better predict its clinical evolution. Here, we identified the expression pattern of miRNAs at different stages of skin cancer progression in a panel of murine skin cancer cell lines. We determined that miR-203 and miR-205 are differentially expressed in this panel, and evaluated their potential use as biomarkers of prognosis in human tumours. MiR-205 was expressed in tumours with pathological features recognized as indicators of poor prognosis such as desmoplasia, perineural invasion and infiltrative growth pattern. MiR-205 was mainly expressed in undifferentiated areas and in the invasion front, and was associated with both local recurrence and the development of general clinical events of poor evolution. MiR-205 expression was an independent variable selected to predict events of poor clinical evolution using the multinomial logistic regression model described in this study. In contrast, miR-203 was mainly expressed in tumours exhibiting the characteristics associated with a good prognosis, was mainly present in well-differentiated zones, and rarely expressed in the invasion front. Therefore, the expression and associations of miR-205 and miR-203 were mostly mutually exclusive. Finally, using a logistic biplot we identified three clusters of patients with differential prognosis based on miR-203 and miR-205 expression, and pathological tumour features. This work highlights the utility of miR-205 and miR-203 as prognostic markers in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

No abstract

Many food packages on the market show an image of the product contained inside or the ingredients with which the product was produced. During the packaging design process, it is the job of the designer or the marketing team to decide which specific image will be depicted on the packaging. This paper analyses the potential implications of this decision by studying the influence that the visual appearance of the product pictured on the packaging has on the way consumers perceive the product during consumption. Two packaging designs for apple sauce were created; the only variable was the visual appearance of the apple displayed: one showed a red apple and the other showed a green one. The 147 participants in this between‐subjects experiment tasted and evaluated six product attributes (Sweet, Acidic, Intense Flavour, Healthy, Natural, and Quality) as well as Liking and Willingness to buy. The results of a MANOVA‐Biplot analysis show that the visual appearance of the product pictured affects Liking, Willingness to buy, and some product attributes. In fact, a strong positive relationship was identified between the attribute Healthy and the perceived quality of the product with Liking and Willingness to buy; if one of these attributes scored higher, the higher score was extrapolated to the others. The study also shows that gender differences exist as these effects do not affect all consumers equally, with women being more sensitive to them than men. This paper discusses the implications of these results for the food industry, for packaging designers and for marketers.