Accounting history of capital maintenance: Legal precedents for managerial autonomy in the United Kingdom

The effectiveness of the capital maintenance concept that became enshrined in British companies legislation during the 19th century was almost immediately undermined when companies were permitted to pay dividends from circulating\u27 capital surpluses, even though overall there were losses of total invested capital. It is generally accepted that the British courts were conscious not to limit management\u27s capacity to innovate and operate their businesses in good faith, and to maximize the capacity of their entities to distribute dividends to shareholders now and in the future. Nevertheless, it is unclear why at the time some accounting methods were accepted as being satisfactory in certain situations but not in others. It is argued here that the British judges adhered to a number of complementary guiding principles when assessing the validity of particular accounting procedures. Central to these principles is the notion that individual firms have different planning horizons and associated particulars of risk assessment. These cannot be captured by the general use of surplus methods of profit determination using current market prices. Consequently, the courts resisted imposing uniform accounting and reporting requirements because traditionally they respected separation of ownership and control

Human rhinoviruses: coming in from the cold

Rhinovirus infections cause at least 70% of virus-related wheezing exacerbations and cold and flu-like illnesses. Infections are also associated with otitis media, sinusitis and pneumonia. The annual impact of human rhinovirus (HRV) infections costs billions of healthcare dollars. To date, 100 serotyped HRV or 'classical' strains have been divided between two genetically distinct species based on subgenomic sequences, but many more, apparently novel strains remain un-characterized, circulating in unknown patterns and causing undefined illnesses. Until recently, the genomes of less than half the classical strains had been sequenced. In April 2009, the remaining classical HRV genome sequences were reported. These data will inform therapeutic development and phylogenetic analysis for this subset of HRV strains but should be viewed as one step in a long road leading to comprehensive HRV characterization

Study in optimization of microcircuit design Final report

Optimization of microcircuit reliabilit

Effectiveness of Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Among Nursing Home Residents During an Influenza Type A (H3N2) Epidemic

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111257/1/j.1532-5415.1999.tb04574.x.pd

IMPUTING CHARACTERISTIC VALUES OF AGRICULTURAL SEED-STOCK

Statistical methods of regression and mathematical (linear) programming are employed to combine principles of economics and genetics in a conceptual, multi-step, model of valuation for biotechnical change. The resulting model has the capacity to estimate the value of changes in specific characteristics for specific production environments, whether those changes are accomplished by traditional plant and animal breeding methods or by genetic engineering. The application of the model is illustrated with an example of commercial cow-calf production under conditions typical of the Texas Panhandle using a total of 32 breed groups

Be Quiet and Man Up: A Qualitative Questionnaire Study into Fathers Who Witnessed Their Partner’s Birth Trauma

Background: Research focusing on paternal mental health is limited, especially regarding the impact of the experience of poor mental health in the perinatal period. For example, little is known about the experiences of fathers who witness their partner’s traumatic birth and the subsequent impact on their mental health. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore fathers’ experiences of witnessing a traumatic birth, how these experiences impacted their wellbeing, and what support they received during and following the traumatic birth. Methods: Sixty-one fathers were recruited via targeted social media to complete an anonymous online qualitative questionnaire regarding their birth trauma experience. Eligible participants were fathers aged eighteen or over, resided in the UK and had witnessed their partner’s traumatic birth (that did not result in loss of life). Thematic analysis was used to analyse the questionnaire data. Results: Three main themes were identified: ‘fathers’ understanding of the experience’ (subthemes: nothing can prepare you for it; merely a passenger; mixed experiences with staff; not about me); ‘life after birth trauma’ (subthemes: manhood after birth; inability to be happy; impact on relationships); and ‘the support fathers received vs what they wanted’ (subthemes: prenatal support; birth support; and postnatal support). Conclusions: Fathers reported that witnessing their partner’s traumatic birth had a significant impact on them. They felt this affected their mental health and relationships long into the postnatal period. However, there is no nationally recognised support in place for fathers to use as a result of their experiences. The participants attributed this to being perceived as less important than women in the postnatal period, and maternity services’ perceptions of the father more generally. Implications include ensuring support is available for both the mother and father following a traumatic birth, with additional staff training geared towards the father’s role

What Happened to our Oats in 1953?

Stem rust, crown rust, temperatures, moisture and- believe it or not- hurricanes, tornadoes and windstorms all combined forces to wreak havoc with Iowa\u27s 1953 oat crop. Here is the story and a look ahead

Usefulness of Published PCR Primers in Detecting Human Rhinovirus Infection

We conducted a preliminary comparison of the relative sensitivity of a cross-section of published human rhinovirus (HRV)–specific PCR primer pairs, varying the oligonucleotides and annealing temperature. None of the pairs could detect all HRVs in 2 panels of genotyped clinical specimens; >1 PCR is required for accurate description of HRV epidemiology