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Purpose: The paper aims to analyse the engagement in sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) by a sample of Portuguese firms between 2008 and 2011. Design/methodology/approach: Bivariate and multivariate non-parametric statistics is used to analyse some factors that influence the decision to have sustainability reports assured. Findings: Results indicate that size, leverage, profitability, listing status and industrial affiliation are determinants of SRA, whereas type of ownership is not. A downward trend in sustainability reporting and its assurance was also detected. Research limitations/implications: The sample is small. Originality/value: It adds to the scarce research on SRA by providing new empirical data in a context of crisis and extends prior research by analysing the effects of listing status and type of ownership. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Abstract
Purpose - This study investigates the use of the internet by the largest companies based in Sweden and Spain to communicate their engagement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Its purpose is to analyse to what extent, if any, are there differences in the CSR communication on the web sites companies from these two countries. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines CSR communication on the internet by companies based in Sweden and Spain. Non-parametric statistics are used to analyse some factors that influence disclosure, namely country, industry affiliation, profitability, and size. Findings - Findings suggest that in spite of the existence of a high degree of similarity between CSR communication practices, companies from Spain place social responsibility information in more prominent sections and devote more space to said information. Swedish companies are found to disclose more their codes of conduct/ethics and CSR-related press clips and published articles. Research limitations/implications - The sample is small. There may be content analysis issues associated with subjectivity in the coding process. Originality/value - It adds to the scarce research on CSR communication by companies in these countries by providing new empirical data and extends prior research comparing such practices in different international models of CSR.

Abstract
In the last decades propofol became established as an intravenous agent for the induction and maintenance of both sedation and general anesthesia procedures. In order to achieve the desired clinical effects appropriate infusion rate strategies must be designed. Moreover, it is important to avoid or minimize associated side effects namely adverse cardiorespiratory effects and delayed recovery. Nowadays, to attain these purposes the continuous propofol delivery is usually performed through target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems whose algorithms rely on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic models. This work presents statistical models to estimate both the infusion rate and the bolus administration. The modeling strategy relies on multivariate linear models, based on patient characteristics such as age, height, weight and gender along with the desired target concentration. A clinical database collected with a RugLoopII device on 84 patients undergoing ultrasonographic endoscopy under sedation-analgesia with propofol and remifentanil is used to estimate the models (training set with 74 cases) and assess their performance (test set with 10 cases). The results obtained in the test set comprising a broad range of characteristics are satisfactory since the models are able to predict bolus, infusion rates and the effect-site concentrations comparable to those of TCI. Furthermore, comparisons of the effect-site concentrations for dosages predicted by the proposed Linear model and the Marsh model for the same target concentration is achieved using Schnider model and a factorial design on the factors (patients characteristics). The results indicate that the Linear model predicts a dosage profile that is faster in leading to an effect-site concentration closer to the desired target concentration.