Accounting for brands in IAS 38 of IASC (intangible assets) compared with French and German practices : an illustration of the difficulty of international harmonization

It is often stressed that the process of IASC standard setting and its output are very much influenced by the Anglo-American accounting approach. This is considered to be one of the major reasons for the obvious reluctance of countries to adopt the international accounting standards. The importance given to the two accounting characteristics of reliability and relevance and their mutual relationship is one of the dominant reasons for the differences between the Continental-European and the Anglo-American accounting philosophy. An area where this competing relationship between relevance and reliabitlity becomes highly obvious is in accounting for intangible assets, and namely for brands. It is then highly interesting to study whether the treatment developed by the IASC differs from the accounting practice in Continental European countries and to consider if it could be adopted easily by enterprises in those countries. That is the main objective of this article, which compares the positions adopted in IAS 38 concerning brands and the related practices in France and Germany. Despite the existence of numerous points of convergence, the article shows some major differences between two countries supposed to follow relatively similar rules. It tends then to draw our attention on the difficulty of international harmonization.international accounting standards; IASC; intangible assets; brands; international harmonization

Web-based instruments for strengthening sustainable regional development in the Alps

Web-based information and communication technologies enable the inclusion of all stakeholders in sustainable regional development and raise hopes that these processes will be accomplished from the bottom up and with broad public participation. This article synthesizes, presents, and critically discusses solutions for the Alps that use web 2.0 technologies, in particular: (a) GALPIS and DIAMONT with databases and an interactive webGIS, (b) mountain.TRIP as an efficient communication and information system to link research with practice, and (c) mountain wikis as tools for collaborative regional planning and development. The results indicate that new information and communication instruments enhance the implementation, promotion, assessment, and steering of sustainable regional development in the Alps

What are Links in Linked Open Data? A Characterization and Evaluation of Links between Knowledge Graphs on the Web

Linked Open Data promises to provide guiding principles to publish interlinked knowledge graphs on the Web in the form of findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable datasets. We argue that while as such, Linked Data may be viewed as a basis for instantiating the FAIR principles, there are still a number of open issues that cause significant data quality issues even when knowledge graphs are published as Linked Data. Firstly, in order to define boundaries of single coherent knowledge graphs within Linked Data, a principled notion of what a dataset is, or, respectively, what links within and between datasets are, has been missing. Secondly, we argue that in order to enable FAIR knowledge graphs, Linked Data misses standardised findability and accessability mechanism, via a single entry link. In order to address the first issue, we (i) propose a rigorous definition of a naming authority for a Linked Data dataset (ii) define different link types for data in Linked datasets, (iii) provide an empirical analysis of linkage among the datasets of the Linked Open Data cloud, and (iv) analyse the dereferenceability of those links. We base our analyses and link computations on a scalable mechanism implemented on top of the HDT format, which allows us to analyse quantity and quality of different link types at scale.Series: Working Papers on Information Systems, Information Business and Operation

Dystopian utopia between mountain and the sea? Second-home production along the Coastal Cordillera of Central Chile 1992-2012

In recent decades the expansion of the metropolitan areas in Central Chile has produced numerous forms, structures and functions. The amenities of the environment and local food and culture have been used to promote a utopia for future residents, which include many people who have purchased a second home. However in many cases the migrants have suffered frustrations. They found dystopia instead of the promised utopia. By intensifying the metropolization of Central Chile, the real estate sector has produced a space not unlike the spatial conditions the migrants hoped to escape. Pristine environments were transformed into polluted areas, suffering from rapid urbanization, noise, rubbish and an overload of visitors in formerly untouched areas. In this paper we analyse the socio-economic impact and the perception of second-home development. Many of the new apartments, flats and houses are used as second homes, introducing and enhancing new forms of multilocality. The infrastructure is designed for full occupation, yet during many periods of the year it is not used, and those who live there all year round seem lost in large areas devoid of life

Worsening calcification propensity precedes all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in haemodialyzed patients

A novel in-vitro test (T-50-test) assesses ex-vivo serum calcification propensity which predicts mortality in HD patients. The association of longitudinal changes of T-50 with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality has not been investigated. We assessed T-50 in paired sera collected at baseline and at 24 months in 188 prevalent European HD patients from the ISAR cohort, most of whom were Caucasians. Patients were followed for another 19 [interquartile range: 11-37] months. Serum T-50 exhibited a significant decline between baseline and 24 months (246 +/- 64 to 190 +/- 68 minutes;p < 0.001). With serum Delta-phosphate showing the strongest independent association with declining T-50 (r = -0.39;p < 0.001) in multivariable linear regression. The rate of decline of T-50 over 24 months was a significant predictor of all-cause (HR = 1.51 per 1SD decline, 95% CI: 1.04 to 2.2;p = 0.03) and cardiovascular mortality (HR = 2.15;95% CI: 1.15 to 3.97;p = 0.02) in Kaplan Meier and multivariable Cox-regression analysis, while cross-sectional T-50 at inclusion and 24 months were not. Worsening serum calcification propensity was an independent predictor of mortality in this small cohort of prevalent HD patients. Prospective larger scaled studies are needed to assess the value of calcification propensity as a longitudinal parameter for risk stratification and monitoring of therapeutic interventions

Sex and adverse events of adjuvant chemotherapy in colon cancer: an analysis of 34,640 patients in the ACCENT database

BACKGROUND: Adjuvant chemotherapy is a standard treatment option for patients with stage III and high-risk stage II colon cancer. Sex is one of several factors responsible for the wide inter-patient variability in drug responses. Amalgamated data on the effect of sex on the toxicity of current standard adjuvant treatment for colorectal cancer are missing. METHODS: The objective of our study was to compare incidence and severity of major toxicities of fluoropyrimidine- (5FU or capecitabine) based adjuvant chemotherapy, with or without oxaliplatin, between male and female patients after curative surgery for colon cancer. Adult patients enrolled in 27 relevant randomized trials included in the ACCENT (Adjuvant Colon Cancer End Points) database, a large, multi-group, international data repository containing individual patient data, were included. Comparisons were conducted using logistic regression models (stratified by study and treatment arm) within each type of adjuvant chemotherapy (5FU, FOLFOX, capecitabine, CAPOX, and FOLFIRI). The following major toxicities were compared (grade III or IV and grade I-IV, according to National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria [NCI-CTC] criteria, regardless of attribution): nausea, vomiting, nausea or vomiting, stomatitis, diarrhea, leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and neuropathy (in patients treated with oxaliplatin). RESULTS: Data from 34 640 patients were analyzed. Statistically significant and clinically relevant differences in the occurrence of grade III or IV nonhematological {especially nausea (5FU: odds ratio [OR] = 2.33, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.90 to 2.87, P < .001; FOLFOX: OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.76 to 3.11, P < .001), vomiting (5FU: OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.86 to 3.04, P < .001; FOLFOX: OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.50 to 2.66, P < .001; CAPOX: OR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.55 to 3.46, P < .001), and diarrhea (5FU: OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.21 to 1.51, P < .001; FOLFOX: OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.35 to 1.90, P < .001; FOLFIRI: OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.25 to 1.97, P < .001)} as well as hematological toxicities (neutropenia [5FU: OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.37 to 1.76, P < .001; FOLFOX: OR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.71 to 2.25, P < .001; FOLFIRI: OR = 2.01, 95% CI = 1.66 to 2.43, P < .001; capecitabine: OR = 4.07, 95% CI = 1.84 to 8.99, P < .001] and leukopenia [5FU: OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.40 to 2.17, P < .001; FOLFIRI: OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.28 to 2.40, P < .001]) were observed, with women being consistently at increased risk. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis confirms that women with colon cancer receiving adjuvant fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy are at increased risk of toxicity. Given the known sex differences in fluoropyrimidine pharmacokinetics, sex-specific dosing of fluoropyrimidines warrants further investigation

Cardiovascular Mortality Can Be Predicted by Heart Rate Turbulence in Hemodialysis Patients

Background: Excess mortality in hemodialysis patients is mostly of cardiovascular origin. We examined the association of heart rate turbulence (HRT), a marker of baroreflex sensitivity, with cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients. Methods: A population of 290 prevalent hemodialysis patients was followed up for a median of 3 years. HRT categories 0 (both turbulence onset [TO] and slope [TS] normal), 1 (TO or TS abnormal), and 2 (both TO and TS abnormal) were obtained from 24 h Holter recordings. The primary end-point was cardiovascular mortality. Associations of HRT categories with the endpoints were analyzed by multivariable Cox regression models including HRT, age, albumin, and the improved Charlson Comorbidity Index for hemodialysis patients. Multivariable linear regression analysis identified factors associated with TO and TS. Results: During the follow-up period, 20 patients died from cardiovascular causes. In patients with HRT categories 0, 1 and 2, cardiovascular mortality was 1, 10, and 22%, respectively. HRT category 2 showed the strongest independent association with cardiovascular mortality with a hazard ratio of 19.3 (95% confidence interval: 3.69-92.03;P < 0.001). Age, calcium phosphate product, and smoking status were associated with TO and TS. Diabetes mellitus and diastolic blood pressure were only associated with TS. Conclusion: Independent of known risk factors, HRT assessment allows identification of hemodialysis patients with low, intermediate, and high risk of cardiovascular mortality. Future prospective studies are needed to translate risk prediction into risk reduction in hemodialysis patients

Rationale and study design of the prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study “rISk strAtification in end-stage renal disease” (ISAR) study

Background: The ISAR study is a prospective, longitudinal, observational cohort study to improve the cardiovascular risk stratification in endstage renal disease (ESRD). The major goal is to characterize the cardiovascular phenotype of the study subjects, namely alterations in micro-and macrocirculation and to determine autonomic function. Methods/design: We intend to recruit 500 prevalent dialysis patients in 17 centers in Munich and the surrounding area. Baseline examinations include: (1) biochemistry, (2) 24-h Holter Electrocardiography (ECG) recordings, (3) 24-h ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM), (4) 24 h pulse wave analysis (PWA) and pulse wave velocity (PWV), (5) retinal vessel analysis (RVA) and (6) neurocognitive testing. After 24 months biochemistry and determination of single PWA, single PWV and neurocognitive testing are repeated. Patients will be followed up to 6 years for (1) hospitalizations, (2) cardiovascular and (3) non-cardiovascular events and (4) cardiovascular and (5) all-cause mortality. Discussion/conclusion: We aim to create a complex dataset to answer questions about the insufficiently understood pathophysiology leading to excessively high cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality in dialysis patients. Finally we hope to improve cardiovascular risk stratification in comparison to the use of classical and non-classical (dialysis-associated) risk factors and other models of risk stratification in ESRD patients by building a multivariable Cox-Regression model using a combination of the parameters measured in the study