Understanding students' future intention to engage in sustainability accounting: the case of Malaysia and the Philippines

Purpose: The study investigates whether the level of sustainability concerns of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Malaysia and the Philippines is positively associated with accounting students' intentions to engage in sustainability accounting through its effect on students' attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control regarding environmental sustainability practices. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical study relies on a structural equation model computed using data collected through a questionnaire and data collected from the HEIs websites. Findings: The findings show that the willingness to engage in sustainability accounting is determined by students' subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, but it is not determined by attitude regarding environmental sustainability practices. The authors also found that the greater the concern with sustainability of the HEI in which a student is enrolled, the greater his/her attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control towards environmental sustainability, and, indirectly, the greater his/her intention to engage in sustainability accounting. Originality/value: These findings add to the literature on higher education and sustainability accounting by high-lighting the importance of the HEIs sector in promoting sustainability policies and practices, in acting as role models regarding sustainability issues, and in preparing students for building a sustainable society.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

On the number of signals in multivariate time series

We assume a second-order source separation model where the observed multivariate time series is a linear mixture of latent, temporally uncorrelated time series with some components pure white noise. To avoid the modelling of noise, we extract the non-noise latent components using some standard method, allowing the modelling of the extracted univariate time series individually. An important question is the determination of which of the latent components are of interest in modelling and which can be considered as noise. Bootstrap-based methods have recently been used in determining the latent dimension in various methods of unsupervised and supervised dimension reduction and we propose a set of similar estimation strategies for second-order stationary time series. Simulation studies and a sound wave example are used to show the method's effectiveness

Predictors and Consequences of Anaemia Among Antiretroviral-Naïve HIV-Infected and HIV-Uninfected Children in Tanzania.

Predictors and consequences of childhood anaemia in settings with high HIV prevalence are not well known. The aims of the present study were to identify maternal and child predictors of anaemia among children born to HIV-infected women and to study the association between childhood anaemia and mortality. Prospective cohort study. Maternal characteristics during pregnancy and Hb measurements at 3-month intervals from birth were available for children. Information was also collected on malaria and HIV infection in the children, who were followed up for survival status until 24 months after birth. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The study sample consisted of 829 children born to HIV-positive women. Advanced maternal clinical HIV disease (relative risk (RR) for stage > or =2 v. stage 1: 1.31, 95 % CI 1.14, 1.51) and low CD4 cell counts during pregnancy (RR for <350 cells/mm3 v. > or =350 cells/mm3: 1.58, 95 % CI 1.05, 2.37) were associated with increased risk of anaemia among children. Birth weight <2500 g, preterm birth (<34 weeks), malaria parasitaemia and HIV infection in the children also increased the risk of anaemia. Fe-deficiency anaemia in children was an independent predictor of mortality in the first two years of life (hazard ratio 1.99, 95 % CI 1.06, 3.72). Comprehensive care including highly active antiretroviral therapy to eligible HIV-infected women during pregnancy could reduce the burden of anaemia in children. Programmes for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and antimalarial treatment to children could improve child survival in settings with high HIV prevalence

Six years survival on imatinib with no disease progression after diagnosis of metastatic duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumour: a case report

Introduction: A duodenal Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour (GIST) is a rare finding and until recently advanced disease had a poor prognosis. A PubMed search revealed no reports of more than five years survival of inoperable GIST on chemotherapy with WHO performance status zero. Case Presentation: A 68 year old female was diagnosed with unresectable GIST in the duodenum with metastasis to liver, pancreas and omentum in November 2001. She was commenced on imatinib mesylate (Glivec) chemotherapy. This case report was prepared from the medical records and radiology reports. She had good tolerance with stable disease. After six years her CT scan showed no disease progression and her WHO performance status was zero. Conclusion: This report supports the view that imatinib is a safe and effective drug in controlling disease progression in advanced metastatic GIST and plays an important role in improving the patient's quality of life

Machine Learning and Pathway Analysis-Based Discovery of Metabolomic Markers Relating to Chronic Pain Phenotypes

Recent scientific evidence suggests that chronic pain phenotypes are reflected in metabolomic changes. However, problems associated with chronic pain, such as sleep disorders or obesity, may complicate the metabolome pattern. Such a complex phenotype was investigated to identify common metabolomics markers at the interface of persistent pain, sleep, and obesity in 71 men and 122 women undergoing tertiary pain care. They were examined for patterns in d = 97 metabolomic markers that segregated patients with a relatively benign pain phenotype (low and little bothersome pain) from those with more severe clinical symptoms (high pain intensity, more bothersome pain, and co-occurring problems such as sleep disturbance). Two independent lines of data analysis were pursued. First, a data-driven supervised machine learning-based approach was used to identify the most informative metabolic markers for complex phenotype assignment. This pointed primarily at adenosine monophosphate (AMP), asparagine, deoxycytidine, glucuronic acid, and propionylcarnitine, and secondarily at cysteine and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as informative for assigning patients to clinical pain phenotypes. After this, a hypothesis-driven analysis of metabolic pathways was performed, including sleep and obesity. In both the first and second line of analysis, three metabolic markers (NAD, AMP, and cysteine) were found to be relevant, including metabolic pathway analysis in obesity, associated with changes in amino acid metabolism, and sleep problems, associated with downregulated methionine metabolism. Taken together, present findings provide evidence that metabolomic changes associated with co-occurring problems may play a role in the development of severe pain. Co-occurring problems may influence each other at the metabolomic level. Because the methionine and glutathione metabolic pathways are physiologically linked, sleep problems appear to be associated with the first metabolic pathway, whereas obesity may be associated with the second.Peer reviewe

Machine Learning and Pathway Analysis-Based Discovery of Metabolomic Markers Relating to Chronic Pain Phenotypes

Recent scientific evidence suggests that chronic pain phenotypes are reflected in metabolomic changes. However, problems associated with chronic pain, such as sleep disorders or obesity, may complicate the metabolome pattern. Such a complex phenotype was investigated to identify common metabolomics markers at the interface of persistent pain, sleep, and obesity in 71 men and 122 women undergoing tertiary pain care. They were examined for patterns in d = 97 metabolomic markers that segregated patients with a relatively benign pain phenotype (low and little bothersome pain) from those with more severe clinical symptoms (high pain intensity, more bothersome pain, and co-occurring problems such as sleep disturbance). Two independent lines of data analysis were pursued. First, a data-driven supervised machine learning-based approach was used to identify the most informative metabolic markers for complex phenotype assignment. This pointed primarily at adenosine monophosphate (AMP), asparagine, deoxycytidine, glucuronic acid, and propionylcarnitine, and secondarily at cysteine and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) as informative for assigning patients to clinical pain phenotypes. After this, a hypothesis-driven analysis of metabolic pathways was performed, including sleep and obesity. In both the first and second line of analysis, three metabolic markers (NAD, AMP, and cysteine) were found to be relevant, including metabolic pathway analysis in obesity, associated with changes in amino acid metabolism, and sleep problems, associated with downregulated methionine metabolism. Taken together, present findings provide evidence that metabolomic changes associated with co-occurring problems may play a role in the development of severe pain. Co-occurring problems may influence each other at the metabolomic level. Because the methionine and glutathione metabolic pathways are physiologically linked, sleep problems appear to be associated with the first metabolic pathway, whereas obesity may be associated with the second.Peer reviewe

151Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy and x-ray-diffraction studies on the Pb2Ba2EuCu3O8+[delta] system

Simultaneous replacement of Sr by Ba and Y by Eu in the Pb-2213 system was found to yield single-phase Pb2Ba2EuCu3O8+δ samples, suitable for Eu151 Mössbauer measurements. The samples were synthesized by a solid-state reaction of metal oxides and carbonates under an inert atmosphere. An oxygen-rich sample corresponding to δ=1.79 was obtained by annealing the as-synthesized material (δ=0.16) in oxygen. The oxygen annealing increased the size of the lattice constants and led to an orthorhombic-to-tetragonal phase transition of the structure. The samples were also oriented in an 11.7-T magnetic field. The x-ray-diffraction spectra showed that the c axes tended to orient perpendicular to the applied field. The measured Mössbauer spectra exhibited an electric quadrupole interaction typical of the Eu site in high-Tc cuprates. The average orientation angles obtained from fittings of the Mössbauer spectra were in accordance with the results from the x-ray-diffraction measurements.Peer reviewe

Precise determination of the hyperfine parameters of europium in multifluorite perovskites by 151Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy

The hyperfine interactions at the europium lattice sites in samples of the homologous (Fe,Cu)Sr2(Eu,Ce)nCu2O4+2n+z (n=2,3) series were studied by Eu151 Mössbauer spectroscopy. The work was motivated by the search for new superconducting phases. This homologous series is based on the YBa2Cu3O7−δ (1:2:3) structure. The samples used in the Mössbauer measurements consisted of crystallites with random orientation and grain oriented crystallites. The texture of oriented samples was analyzed by x-ray diffraction. The complete quadrupole Hamiltonian of the 21.5-keV γ-transition of Eu151 was successfully applied in the analyses of all the Mössbauer spectra. In samples having n≤2 the europium atoms occupy a single lattice site, whereas the spectra of the n=3 samples exhibit hyperfine interactions of the two different europium sites. Analyzing the hyperfine parameters of the latter samples was made possible by simultaneous fitting of three spectra, corresponding to three different crystal orientations of the same specimen. This fitting scheme also enables more precise determination of the hyperfine parameters in the n=2 samples. In these samples an electric field gradient (EFG), with a large negative-valued main component (Vzz) parallel with the crystal c axis, was found. In the n=3 samples, the two EFG’s of the europium sites were found to have Vzz components of opposite signs. The negative Vzz value was attributed to the rare-earth site adjacent to the CuO layer. This site, found in all samples of the series, corresponds to the rare-earth site of the 1:2:3 system.Peer reviewe

Vitamin D Status and its Association with Morbidity including Wasting and Opportunistic Illnesses in HIV-Infected Women in Tanzania.

Vitamin D has a potential role in preventing HIV-related complications, based on its extensive involvement in immune and metabolic function, including preventing osteoporosis and premature cardiovascular disease. However, this association has not been examined in large studies or in resource-limited settings. Vitamin D levels were assessed in 884 HIV-infected pregnant women at enrollment in a trial of multivitamin supplementation (excluding vitamin D) in Tanzania. Information on HIV related complications was recorded during follow-up (median, 70 months). Proportional hazards models and generalized estimating equations were used to assess the relationship of vitamin D status with these outcomes. Women with low vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D<32 ng/mL) had 43% higher risk of reaching a body mass index (BMI) less than 18 kg/m(2) during the first 2 years of follow-up, compared to women with adequate vitamin D levels (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.43; 95% confidence intervals: [1.03-1.99]). The relationship between continuous vitamin D levels and risk of BMI less than 18 kg/m(2) during follow-up was inverse and linear (p=0.03). Women with low vitamin D levels had significantly higher incidence of acute upper respiratory infections (HR: 1.27 [1.04-1.54]) and thrush (HR: 2.74 [1.29-5.83]) diagnosed during the first 2 years of follow-up. Low vitamin D status was a significant risk factor for wasting and HIV-related complications such as thrush during follow-up in this prospective cohort in Tanzania. If these protective associations are confirmed in randomized trials, vitamin D supplementation could represent a simple and inexpensive method to improve health and quality of life of HIV-infected patients, particularly in resource-limited settings

Europium substitution effects in superconducting YBa2Cu4O8 synthesized under one atmosphere oxygen pressure

Y1−xEuxBa2Cu4O8 powder samples, with x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0, were synthesized at ambient pressure using either an acetate-tartrate sol-gel method or a LiF flux process. The lattice parameters and purity of the samples were checked using X-ray diffraction. The superconducting transition was monitored by magnetic-susceptibility measurements. Replacing yttrium with europium increased the unit-cell volume, decreased the orthorhombicity (b/a) and the critical temperature. The hyperfine interactions at the europium site were studied by Eu151 Mössbauer spectroscopy. The complete quadrupole Hamiltonian of the 21.5-keV γ transition of Eu151 was successfully applied in the analyses of the Mössbauer spectra. The Mössbauer parameters obtained were found to resemble those measured for the EuBa2Cu3Cu3O7−δ (1:2:3) system. It was demonstrated that magnetic alignment of the crystallites could not be obtained with an 11.7-T field, contrary to the 1:2:3 and other high-Tc systems. The magnetic susceptibility for 1:2:4 single crystals appears to be isotropic.Peer reviewe