Accounting GAAPs and accounting treatments for management of property : case studies from Greek real estate market

The present article reconciles the GAAP to each other, which apply to accounting recording of fixed assets. It separates the fixed assets, from the side of buyer, as Own Used, Investments, and Inventories and integrates these types of assets into four main portfolio categories. It examines, what are the features to incorporate an element of fixed assets in these portfolios. It analyzes the accounting treatments for each portfolio transaction and the impact of any accounting entry to equity and profit and loss account. It presents the key accounting profitability metrics for any kind of fixed asset. The subject of the article focuses on land and buildings as main part of the total fixed assets of a company. It discusses the influence of taxations and other expenditures at purchase time on the cost and tries to establish a purchase price allocation method for property acquisition. It describes the accounting entries for the revenues, expenses and valuations per portfolio. It makes a comparative analysis between Greek GAAP, IFRS and U.S GAAP for accounting treatments of fixed assets. Finally, it uses the framework of Greek Real Estate Market as experimental setting where the principles of Historic Cost and Fair Value Accounting can be compared. The contribution of this article is that it surveys from a critical perspective, principles, literature and the practice about all the above issues, and presents from accounting point of view a way to managing and monitoring real estate investments.peer-reviewe

Toward a common tax regime for the European Union countries

The tax burden on wages, profits, property, and goods or services has a serious impact on cross-country competiveness, something that, in turn, impinges strongly on the actual economy of common markets such as the European Union (EU). While the mobility of productive factors is directly related with country tax-regime differences, government budget funding from tax revenues and rates are the main fiscal policy tools. This article analyzes the trends, similarities and differences between the tax regimes of European Monetary Union (EMU) for the period from1995 to 2019. The methodologies we employ include time series analysis, regression analysis and multivariate cluster analysis. The data are mainly collected from the OECD database and tax revenue departments at country level. We argue that there are significant differences among the tax regimes of EU countries and that no policy has been implemented to ensure tax homogeneity across the EU, nor is there any likelihood of such. The anarchy in fiscal policy is an obstacle for the European Integration. Budget deficits have an impact on taxation and countries, invariably, manage the recent debt crisis by selecting different taxes as fiscal policy tools. Our article presents the differences between tax regimes of EMU countries and shows that the level of economic growth affects the structure of taxes at work and alters the performance of different types of taxes; is also wishes to explain the factors that differentiate tax regimes by using multi dimensional criteria and variance analysis. Our work contributes to the debate toward a common tax regime between EU countries and our analysis is concentrated on this.peer-reviewe

The clusters of economic similarities between EU countries : a view under recent financial and debt crisis

This article analyzes the clusters of similarities among EU member states before and during the recent financial and debt crisis, using variables from banking, taxation, government debt and deficit, and the Current Account of the Balance of Payment; our study follows the method of Multi-Sample Case of Cluster Analysis between and within groups of EU countries. Our findings show that the current economic crisis the EU is faced with is twofaceted and has arisen from the financial and banking sectors and from government debt. In this sense, problems have resulted from the credit policies of the national banking sectors and from national fiscal and budgetary controls. These two crisis facets are correlated and a new problem emerges concerning the fiscal similarities of European Monetary Union (EMU) countries and the necessity for a fiscal union or for common fiscal policies between them. The aim of this article is to help us understand that the current EU crisis is due to the lack of homogeneity in fiscal and financial polishes across the Union.peer-reviewe

TLR9-Dependent and Independent Pathways Drive Activation of the Immune System by Propionibacterium Acnes

Propionibacterium acnes is usually a relatively harmless commensal. However, under certain, poorly understood conditions it is implicated in the etiology of specific inflammatory diseases. In mice, P. acnes exhibits strong immunomodulatory activity leading to splenomegaly, intrahepatic granuloma formation, hypersensitivity to TLR ligands and endogenous cytokines, and enhanced resistance to infection. All these activities reach a maximum one week after P. acnes priming and require IFN-γ and TLR9. We report here the existence of a markedly delayed (1–2 weeks), but phenotypically similar TLR9-independent immunomodulatory response to P. acnes. This alternative immunomodulation is also IFN-γ dependent and requires functional MyD88. From our experiments, a role for MyD88 in the IFN-γ-mediated P. acnes effects seems unlikely and the participation of the known MyD88-dependent receptors, including TLR5, Unc93B-dependent TLRs, IL-1R and IL-18R in the development of the alternative response has been excluded. However, the crucial role of MyD88 can partly be attributed to TLR2 and TLR4 involvement. Either of these two TLRs, activated by bacteria and/or endogenously generated ligands, can fulfill the required function. Our findings hint at an innate immune sensitizing mechanism, which is potentially operative in both infectious and sterile inflammatory disorders

Induction of APOBEC3 Exacerbates DNA Replication Stress and Chromosomal Instability in Early Breast and Lung Cancer Evolution

APOBEC3 enzymes are cytosine deaminases implicated in cancer. Precisely when APOBEC3 expression is induced during cancer development remains to be defined. Here we show that specific APOBEC3 genes are upregulated in breast DCIS, and in pre-invasive lung cancer lesions coincident with cellular proliferation. We observe evidence of APOBEC3-mediated subclonal mutagenesis propagated from TRACERx pre-invasive to invasive NSCLC lesions. We find that APOBEC3B exacerbates DNA replication stress and chromosomal instability through incomplete replication of genomic DNA, manifested by accumulation of mitotic ultrafine bridges and 53BP1 nuclear bodies in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Analysis of TRACERx NSCLC clinical samples and mouse lung cancer models, revealed APOBEC3B expression driving replication stress and chromosome missegregation. We propose that APOBEC3 is functionally implicated in the onset of chromosomal instability and somatic mutational heterogeneity in pre-invasive disease, providing fuel for selection early in cancer evolution

MDC1 maintains active elongation complexes of RNA polymerase II

The role of MDC1 in the DNA damage response has been extensively studied; however, its impact on other cellular processes is not well understood. Here, we describe the role of MDC1 in transcription as a regulator of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII). Depletion of MDC1 causes a genome-wide reduction in the abundance of actively engaged RNAPII elongation complexes throughout the gene body of protein-encoding genes under unperturbed conditions. Decreased engaged RNAPII subsequently alters the assembly of the spliceosome complex on chromatin, leading to changes in pre-mRNA splicing. Mechanistically, the S/TQ domain of MDC1 modulates RNAPII-mediated transcription. Upon genotoxic stress, MDC1 promotes the abundance of engaged RNAPII complexes at DNA breaks, thereby stimulating nascent transcription at the damaged sites. Of clinical relevance, cancer cells lacking MDC1 display hypersensitivity to RNAPII inhibitors. Overall, we unveil a role of MDC1 in RNAPII-mediated transcription with potential implications for cancer treatment

Chronic p53-independent p21 expression causes genomic instability by deregulating replication licensing

The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 (p21) is a cell-cycle checkpoint effector and inducer of senescence, regulated by p53. Yet, evidence suggests that p21 could also be oncogenic, through a mechanism that has so far remained obscure. We report that a subset of atypical cancerous cells strongly expressing p21 showed proliferation features. This occurred predominantly in p53-mutant human cancers, suggesting p53-independent upregulation of p21 selectively in more aggressive tumour cells. Multifaceted phenotypic and genomic analyses of p21-inducible, p53-null, cancerous and near-normal cellular models showed that after an initial senescence-like phase, a subpopulation of p21-expressing proliferating cells emerged, featuring increased genomic instability, aggressiveness and chemoresistance. Mechanistically, sustained p21 accumulation inhibited mainly the CRL4–CDT2 ubiquitin ligase, leading to deregulated origin licensing and replication stress. Collectively, our data reveal the tumour-promoting ability of p21 through deregulation of DNA replication licensing machinery—an unorthodox role to be considered in cancer treatment, since p21 responds to various stimuli including some chemotherapy drugs

Cyanobacterial lipopolysaccharides and human health – a review

Cyanobacterial lipopolysaccharide/s (LPS) are frequently cited in the cyanobacteria literature as toxins responsible for a variety of heath effects in humans, from skin rashes to gastrointestinal, respiratory and allergic reactions. The attribution of toxic properties to cyanobacterial LPS dates from the 1970s, when it was thought that lipid A, the toxic moiety of LPS, was structurally and functionally conserved across all Gram-negative bacteria. However, more recent research has shown that this is not the case, and lipid A structures are now known to be very different, expressing properties ranging from LPS agonists, through weak endotoxicity to LPS antagonists. Although cyanobacterial LPS is widely cited as a putative toxin, most of the small number of formal research reports describe cyanobacterial LPS as weakly toxic compared to LPS from the Enterobacteriaceae. We systematically reviewed the literature on cyanobacterial LPS, and also examined the much lager body of literature relating to heterotrophic bacterial LPS and the atypical lipid A structures of some photosynthetic bacteria. While the literature on the biological activity of heterotrophic bacterial LPS is overwhelmingly large and therefore difficult to review for the purposes of exclusion, we were unable to find a convincing body of evidence to suggest that heterotrophic bacterial LPS, in the absence of other virulence factors, is responsible for acute gastrointestinal, dermatological or allergic reactions via natural exposure routes in humans. There is a danger that initial speculation about cyanobacterial LPS may evolve into orthodoxy without basis in research findings. No cyanobacterial lipid A structures have been described and published to date, so a recommendation is made that cyanobacteriologists should not continue to attribute such a diverse range of clinical symptoms to cyanobacterial LPS without research confirmation

Association of physical exercise and calcium intake with bone mass measured by quantitative ultrasound

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interventions other than medications in the management of osteoporosis are often overlooked. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of physical activity and calcium intake with bone parameters.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We measured the heel T-score and stiffness index (SI) in 1890 pre- and postmenopausal women by quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and assessed physical activity and dietary calcium intake by questionnaire. Participants were divided according to their weekly physical activity (sedentary, moderately active, systematically active) and daily calcium consumption (greater than or less than 800 mg/day).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SI values were significantly different among premenopausal groups (p = 0.016) and between sedentary and systematically active postmenopausal women (p = 0.039). QUS T-scores in systematically active premenopausal women with daily calcium intake > 800 mg/day were significantly higher than those in all other activity groups (p < 0.05) independent of calcium consumption.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Systematic physical activity and adequate dietary calcium intake are indicated for women as a means to maximize bone status benefits.</p