Ecophysiology of Wild Plants and Conservation Perspectives in the State of Qatar

© 2013 Yasseen and Al-Thani, licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the term

Influence of self-regulation within the South African accounting profession : perspectives from SME owners and professional accountants

Abstract: This study investigated the way professional accountants and SME owners experienced the self-regulation of professional accountants within South African SMEs. Furthermore, this study adopts an interpretivist approach, and dispels why traditional positivist accounting methods have been unable to reveal and investigate the complexities within the SME environment. The key findings of this study were that self-regulation posed significant risk to public interest and the liability of the professional accountant, and resulted in role confusion. A significant contribution of this research is the concept of ‘implied assurance’ that emerged due to the self-regulatory environment. This paper is the first to explore the views and make recommendations on accounting policy reform. It also adds to scarce literature on the structure and functioning of the accounting environment within developing economies and SMEs in South Africa

Exposure to depleted uranium does not alter the co-expression of HER-2/neu and p53 in breast cancer patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Amongst the extensive literature on immunohistochemical profile of breast cancer, very little is found on populations exposed to a potential risk factor such as depleted uranium. This study looked at the immunohistochemical expression of HER-2/neu (c-erbB2) and p53 in different histological types of breast cancer found in the middle Euphrates region of Iraq, where the population has been exposed to high levels of depleted uranium.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The present investigation was performed over a period starting from September 2008 to April 2009. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks from 70 patients with breast cancer (62 ductal and 8 lobular carcinoma) were included in this study. A group of 25 patients with fibroadenoma was included as a comparative group, and 20 samples of normal breast tissue sections were used as controls. Labeled streptavidin-biotin (LSAB+) complex method was employed for immunohistochemical detection of HER-2/neu and p53.</p> <p>The detection rate of HER-2/neu and p53 immunohistochemical expression were 47.14% and 35.71% respectively in malignant tumors; expression was negative in the comparative and control groups (p < 0.05).</p> <p>HER-2/neu immunostaining was significantly associated with histological type, tumor size, nodal involvement, and recurrence of breast carcinoma (<it>p </it>< 0.05), p53 immunostaining was significantly associated with tumor size, nodal involvement and recurrence of breast cancer (<it>p </it>< 0.05). There was greater immunoexpression of HER-2/neu in breast cancer in this population, compared with findings in other populations.</p> <p>Both biomarkers were positively correlated with each other. Furthermore, all the cases that co-expressed both HER-2/neu and p53 showed the most unfavorable biopathological profile.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>P53 and HER-2/neu over-expression play an important role in pathogenesis of breast carcinoma. The findings indicate that in regions exposed to high levels of depleted uranium, although p53 and HER-2/neu overexpression are both high, correlation of their expression with age, grade, tumor size, recurrence and lymph node involvement is similar to studies that have been conducted on populations not exposed to depleted uranium. HER-2/neu expression in breast cancer was higher in this population, compared with results on non-exposed populations.</p