The pivotal role of cholesterol absorption inhibitors in the management of dyslipidemia

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol is associated with a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease. Ezetimibe is the first member of a new class of selective cholesterol absorption inhibitors. It impairs the intestinal reabsorption of both dietary and hepatically excreted biliary cholesterol. Ezetimibe is an effective and safe agent for lowering LDL-C and non HDL-C. Short term clinical trials have established the role of ezetimibe monotherapy and its use in combination with statins. Furthermore, ezetimibe and statin combination therapy increased the percentage of patients who achieved their LDL-C treatment goal. Studies using surrogate markers of atherosclerosis have suggested a possible role of ezetimibe in combating atherosclerosis. Ezetimibe provides an effective therapeutic strategy for the management of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) and sitosterolemia. The lack of outcomes and long term safety data is attributed to the relatively recent introduction of this medication

Macro Uncertainty Impacts on ESG Performance and Carbon Emission Reduction Targets

This study examines the impact of three macro uncertainty factors: economic policy uncertainty (EPU), political instability (PIS), and cultural uncertainty avoidance (UA), on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and carbon emission reduction targets. Additionally, we examine whether these macro factors are affected by the profitability of the company. Using an unbalanced sample of companies located in the USA, China, and the UK during the period 2013-2020, results show that during times of economic uncertainty, companies are more likely to engage in ESG activities, including establishing emission reduction targets. Companies in countries with lower levels of political stability (PS) exhibit greater levels of social and environmental engagement, and companies operating in societies that tolerate risks, including the risk associated with climate change, are more likely to have better ESG performance and be committed to emission reduction targets. The results also suggest that profitable companies are more likely to deal with uncertain environments successfully, as they have the required resources to invest in ESG. The study suggests several practical implications for managers and policymakers. [1

Are the effects of nicotinic acid on insulin resistance precipitated by abnormal phosphorous metabolism?

Nicotinic acid is a unique cholesterol modifying agent that exerts favorable effects on all cholesterol parameters. It holds promise as one of the main pharmacological agents to treat mixed dyslipidemia in metabolic syndrome and diabetic patients. The use of nicotinic acid has always been haunted with concerns that it might worsen insulin resistance and complicate diabetes management. We will discuss the interaction between phosphorous metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism and the possibility that worsening of insulin resistance could be related to adrug induced alteration in phosphorous metabolism, and the implications of that in medical management of diabetes and metabolic syndrome patients with mixed dyslipidemia

The Impact of Internal Governance Mechanisms on Environmental Performance of Saudi Firms

Purpose- We argue that firms that have a sustainability committee operating on the board, publish separate sustainability reports that are externally assured by an independent external audit, and have large and active boards are more likely to be engaged in environmental practices and have better environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach- Based on a sample of firms listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange, covering the period 2014–2021, we apply panel data models to examine the research hypotheses. Findings- Our findings show significant positive associations between the existence of sustainability committee, the publication of a separate sustainability reports, and the independent external assurance of these reports and environmental performance. We also find that the composite internal governance index is significant and positively associated with environmental performance. Practical implications- Policy makers should support the creation of sustainability committee on the boards of Saudi firms and review its role and responsibilities. Our findings inform regulators of the importance of the existence of independent external assurance of sustainability reports of Saudi firms to enhance the credibility and reliability of these reports. Managers need to establish devoted committees committed to sustainability related tasks that help coordinate communications between the firm and stakeholders. Originality/value- The Saudi Arabia government has implemented a range of policies and initiatives aim to improve environmental performance which is a main focus of Saudi Vision 2030 to achieve environmental sustainability. Therefore, we provide a unique evidence and new insights on impact of internal governance on corporate environmental performance in the Saudi context

Using Argumentation Logic for Firewall Policy Specification and Analysis

Firewalls are important perimeter security mechanisms that imple-ment an organisation's network security requirements and can be notoriously difficult to configure correctly. Given their widespread use, it is crucial that network administrators have tools to translate their security requirements into firewall configuration rules and ensure that these rules are consistent with each other. In this paper we propose an approach to firewall policy specification and analysis that uses a formal framework for argumentation based preference reasoning. By allowing administrators to define network abstractions (e.g. subnets, protocols etc) security requirements can be specified in a declarative manner using high-level terms. Also it is possible to specify preferences to express the importance of one requirement over another. The use of a formal framework means that the security requirements defined can be automatically analysed for inconsistencies and firewall configurations can be automatically generated. We demonstrate that the technique allows any inconsistency property, including those identified in previous research, to be specified and automatically checked and the use of an argumentation reasoning framework provides administrators with information regarding the causes of the inconsistency

Sustainable Products and Audit Fees: Empirical Evidence from Western European Countries

Purpose –The present study examines whether firms that appear to exhibit high sustainable outputs are more likely to pay higher audit fees than firms without such outputs. Design/methodology/approach–The sustainability outputs are measured using a sustainable product portfolio consisting of four products: clean energy products (CEP), eco-design products (EDP), environmental products (EP) and sustainable building projects (SBP). The audit fee variable is measured by the natural logarithm of the total amount of audit fees. The study tests two models of the association between these outputs and audit fees; Model 1 tests this association in the absence of the moderating variable (sustainability committee) and Model 2 tests the association in the presence of the moderating variable. Findings– An analysis of data on 261 European firms from the Refinitiv Eikon database from 2010 to 2019, shows that high sustainability outputs are significantly and positively associated with audit fees. More importantly, this association is moderated by the presence of a board-level sustainability committee, suggesting that this type of committee reflects a factor considered by auditors in their audit risk assessment practices. The findings indicate that in Model 1, one (EP) out of four variables has a significant and positive association with audit fees, while in Model 2 and in the presence of sustainability committee, two variables (EP and EDP) have a significant and negative association with audit fees. However, the robust analysis shows that three variables (EP, EDP and SBP) have significant and negative associations with audit fees. Practical implications –The study findings have important implications for policy makers, auditors and firms’ managers. For policy makers, the findings provide support for the argument that sustainable attitudes incentive firms to manage sustainable product profiles more effectively. As such, policy makers should incentivise firms to establish a sustainability committee and regulate its role and responsibilities. Auditors should coordinate with the sustainability committee to facilitate audit efforts and reduce audit fees. Social implications Understanding the relationship between sustainable products and audit fees will allow firms to improve their portfolio of sustainable products. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with society by establishing a sustainability committee that is responsible to communicate with that society. Originality/value–The results support the argument that firms should manage sustainable product portfolios more effectively. In addition, the results of the study highlight the importance of a new variable as a moderator, the sustainability committee, which has not been examined before

Universal vortex formation in rotating traps with bosons and fermions

When a system consisting of many interacting particles is set rotating, it may form vortices. This is familiar to us from every-day life: you can observe vortices while stirring your coffee or watching a hurricane. In the world of quantum mechanics, famous examples of vortices are superconducting films and rotating bosonic $^4$He or fermionic $^3$He liquids. Vortices are also observed in rotating Bose-Einstein condensates in atomic traps and are predicted to exist for paired fermionic atoms. Here we show that the rotation of trapped particles with a repulsive interaction leads to a similar vortex formation, regardless of whether the particles are bosons or (unpaired) fermions. The exact, quantum mechanical many-particle wave function provides evidence that in fact, the mechanism of this vortex formation is the same for boson and fermion systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

ROBUST DISTURBANCE REJECTION FOR A CLASS OF NONLINEAR SYSTEMS USING DISTURBANCE OBSERVERS

ABSTRACT This paper is concerned with disturbance rejection performance in single-input single-output (SISO) nonlinear Introduction This paper is concerned with disturbance rejection for a class of single-input single-output (SISO) nonlinear systems. The system dynamics is comprised of a linear part subject to norm-bounded uncertainty , and a vector-valued bounded nonlinearity which is not known exactly. Given an internally stabilizing controller which renders the nominal linear dynamics exponentially stable, the nonlinearities can be represented as a bounded disturbance d (t) ∈ R at the output of a linear system. A disturbance observer (DOB) is then introduced into the feedback system to eliminate the effect of d (t) in the presence of the linear plant uncertainty. The main objective in this paper is to enhance performance robustness of a given class of SISO nonlinear feedback system

The accountancy profession and emerging economies : reflections on the case of Syria at the margins of the global order

Syria, prior to the outbreak of extreme violence in 2011, was seeking increased economic liberalisation and aspiring to gain a larger stake in the global economy after a long period of isolation and animosity with the West. The authors elaborate, with critical insight, on how, before the violent events of more recent times, Syrian accountants were mobilising debates and shaping their professional identity vis-à-vis the new role they envisaged for the accountancy profession in this era of globalisation. Future research possibilities are considered, including reflecting in this context on the terrible and tragic events impacting Syria in recent times

Introduced marine macroflora of Lebanon and its distribution on the Levantine coast

The marine macroflora introduced into Lebanon was studied through an analysis of historical data and field studies carried out since 1991. A total of 29 introduced species have been listed: 3 Chromobionta, 13 Rhodobionta, 12 Chlorobionta and 1 Streptobionta. Among them, Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla, Spatoglossum variabile and Womersleyella setacea are recorded for the first time from Lebanon. Among them, Asparagopsis taxiformis, C. taxifolia var. distichophylla, Cladophora patentiramea, Codium arabicum, Codium parvulum, Galaxaura rugosa, Halophila stipulacea, Hypnea cornuta, Laurencia cf. chondrioides, Lophocladia lallemandii, Stypopodium schimperi, Ulva lactuca and Womersleyella setacea are potentially invasive species, and several of them already occupy extensive stretches of the Lebanese coast. The distribution of species on the Levantine coast, their dynamics and the current status of their populations are discussed.The surveys in 2012, 2013 and 2016 were conducted within the framework of the MedMPAnet Project, implemented by UNEP/MAP-RAC/SPA and funded by RAC/SPA, the European Commission (EC), the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), and the French Global Environment Facility (FFEM)