Sustainability Assurance - The Swedish audit profession’s interpretation and manifestation of competence

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the audit profession's interpretation of the characteristic competence in sustainability assurance, and how this is practically demonstrated. Method: In this paper, a qualitative research with an inductive method approach has been used. Theoretical perspectives: Theories in this paper consist of Flint’s (1988) philosophy of auditing, Abbott’s (1988) theory on professions, Power’s (1997; 1999; 2003) theories of the audit profession, as well as the Swedish legal framework and sustainability assurance standard RevR 6. Empirical data: The empirical data presented in this paper consists of four interviews with sustainability assurers from the Big Four audit firms. The interviews have been used to analyse the profession’s interpretation and manifestation of necessary competence to perform sustainability assurance. Conclusions: The key findings are that the sustainability assurers from the audit firms claim competence due to a perceived overlap between financial audit and sustainability assurance, as well as their use of multidisciplinary teams. External attributes such as educational background, internal training and certification are not seen as factors determining competence

Vaginal Lymphoma with Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura: An Unusual Case Report

The female genital tract is rarely the initial site of presentation in lymphoma or leukemia. We report a case of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) presenting initially in the vagina. The patient, a 75-year-old woman, had a history of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). She presented with a chief complaint of genital bleeding and introital pain. On transvaginal ultrasonography, a vaginal tumor with an irregular wall was detected, and the internal echo showed a hypoechoic and echogenic pattern. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suggested that the vaginal tumor was likely to be a hematoma or a hemorrhagic tumor arising from ITP. Incision and resection for a hematoma or a hemorrhagic tumor were carried out in response to genital bleeding, introital pain, and pathological diagnosis. Postoperative microscopic examination confirmed that the tumor was a vaginal NHL. The final diagnosis using the Ann Arbor staging system was high-stage (stage IV) NHL. The patient received chemotherapy, and she remains in remission for 42 months after treatment

Predictive factors of mortality of patients with fragility hip fractures at 1 year after discharge : A multicenter, retrospective study in the northern Kyushu district of Japan

Purpose: Fragility hip fractures (FHFs) are associated with a high risk of mortality, but the relative contribution of various factors remains controversial. This study aimed to evaluate predictive factors of mortality at 1 year after discharge in Japan. Methods: A total of 497 patients aged 60 years or older who sustained FHFs during follow-up were included in this study. Expected variables were finally assessed using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. Results: The 1-year mortality rate was 9.1% (95% confidence interval: 6.8–12.0%, n = 45). Log-rank test revealed that previous fractures (p = 0.003), Barthel index (BI) at discharge (p = 0.011), and place-to-discharge (p = 0.004) were significantly associated with mortality for male patients. Meanwhile, body mass index (BMI; p = 0.023), total Charlson comorbidity index (TCCI; p = 0.005), smoking (p = 0.007), length of hospital stay (LOS; p = 0.009), and BI (p = 0.004) were the counterparts for females. By multivariate analyses, previous vertebral fractures (hazard ratio (HR) 3.33; p = 0.044), and BI <30 (HR 5.42, p = 0.013) were the predictive variables of mortality for male patients. BMI <18.5 kg/m2 (HR 2.70, p = 0.023), TCCI ≥5 (HR 2.61, p = 0.032), smoking history (HR 3.59, p = 0.018), LOS <14 days (HR 13.9; p = 0.007), and BI <30 (HR 2.76; p = 0.049) were the counterparts for females. Conclusions: Previous vertebral fractures and BI <30 were the predictive variables of mortality for male patients, and BMI <18.5 kg/m2, TCCI ≥5, smoking history, LOS <14 days, and BI <30 were those for females. Decreased BI is one of the independent and preventable risk factors. A comprehensive therapeutic approach should be considered to prevent deterioration of activities of daily living and a higher risk of mortality

Osakadialektens förklarande och betonande nen

The expression nen is a representative characteristic of the Japanese Osaka-dialect. Till this day most local linguistic researchers have only awarded nen a cursory mention, whereas Western researchers do not mention it at all. This paper will list some of the most important characteristics of the Osaka-dialect with special focus on nen and explain the grammatical qualities of nen. Further, it will compare these qualities with the ones of no da of Standard Japanese, with which nen is often equated. The conclusions that can be drawn from these comparisons are that the two expressions are very similar, but still interpretation of nen diverges on several important points such as conjugation, meaning and frequency. Finally, this paper will summarise, discuss the future of nen and suggest ways with which research on the expression could be carried forward

Composition of plasmalogens in serum lipoproteins from patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and their susceptibility to oxidation

Background: Plasmalogens are ether phospholipids (PL) with an alkenyl group including vinyl ether bound at the sn-1 position and a polyunsaturated fatty acid bound at the sn-2 position, and are susceptible to oxidation. To date, there are no reports on the relationship between plasmalogen in serum lipoproteins and non-alceolic steatohepatitis (NASH), caused by multiple factors including oxidative stress. Here, we have investigateu the distribution of plasmalogens in serum lipoproteins isolated from NASH patients and healthy volunteers. Methods: Serum lipoproteins were separated by gel-filtration chromatography, and analyzed for ethanolamine and choline plasmalogens using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results: Both plasmalogen levels were higher in HDL than in VLDL or LDL. The plasmalogens/PL ratio was significantly lower in NASH than controls, for all lipoprotein fractions. Ethanolamine plasmalogens containing 20:4 and 22:6 at the sn-2 position and choline plasmalogens containing 16:0 at the sn-1 position were predominant in each group. In oxidation test using LDL from healthy serum, both types of plasmalogens were decreased during the early stages of oxidation. Conclusion: Plasmalogens could be a potential biomarker for evaluating the early stages of oxidation in NASH

Effectiveness of Earmuffs and Noise-cancelling Headphones for Coping with Hyper-reactivity to Auditory Stimuli in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Preliminary Study

Objective/Background: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of standard earmuffs and noise-cancelling (NC) headphones in controlling behavioural problems related to hyper-reactivity to auditory stimuli in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Twenty-one children with ASD aged 4–16 years (16 boys and 5 girls), after a 2-week nonwearing baseline period, were asked to use standard earmuffs and NC headphones for 2 weeks, in a random order. Parents or teachers rated participants' behaviours that were related to their reaction to auditory stimuli. Results: Four participants refused to wear either the earmuffs or the NC headphones. It was found that the T-score on the Goal Attainment Scaling was significantly higher during the earmuff period than that in the baseline period (Z = 2.726, p = .006). The behaviours of 5 children with ASD improved during the NC headphone period as compared with those in the baseline period; there were no differences in the T-scores on the Goal Attainment Scaling between the NC headphone period and the baseline period (Z = 1.689, p = .091) and between the earmuff and NC headphone periods (Z = −0.451, p = .678). Conclusion: This study demonstrated the effectiveness of standard earmuffs and NC headphones in helping children with ASD to cope with problem behaviours related to hyper-reactivity to auditory stimuli, therefore, children with ASD could use earmuffs to help to deal with unpleasant sensory auditory stimuli

Reconstruction of the House of Culture

Josiek, Miriam - příjmení z předávacího seznamuPrezenční226 - Katedra architekturyvelmi dobř