An insight into the experience of Waikato charities and their transition to the new charity reporting regime

Prior to 2015, there were no requirements for charities in New Zealand to produce financial reports. Prospects and evidence of poor accounting eventually led to vast criticism and debates as to the lack of standards that demanded accountability and transparency. Because the sector’s primary survival is dependent on public trust and confidence, proposed changes resulted in a statutory reform in New Zealand and the introduction of new accounting and auditing standards. This study aims to explore the impact that the new accounting and auditing standards have had on charities in the Waikato region. This research intends to answer the following question: “How have the new financial reporting standards impacted on charities in the Waikato region?” Three semi-structured interviews were conducted on treasurers of three Waikato charities to answer this question. These charities were from different tier levels; Tier 2, tier 3, and tier 4. Qualitative data was collected from these interviews and analysed using a narrative approach. This study found that all charities who participated were impacted to varying degrees. The charities who had complied experienced to some degree an increase in accounting and/or auditing cost. In regards to accountability and reporting, the study found that the knowledge and expertise of the preparer of the financial reports is the main factor which contributes to the compliance of the charities and the impact that they experience. The changes were found to be more onerous and demanding for the smaller charities, especially those reliant on volunteers

Measurement of free light chains with assays based on monoclonal antibodies

Recently, serum free light chain (FLC) assays incorporating anti-kappa (κ) and anti-lambda (λ) FLC monoclonal antibodies have become available: N Latex FLC assay (Siemens) and Seralite® (Abingdon Health). The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of these two new monoclonal antibody-based methods. In doing so, the review will outline the performance characteristics of each method, including a summary of: assay principles, antibody specificity, analytical performance and assay performance in disease. Additionally, the review will describe the potential user benefits of adopting these new generation FLC assays, which are designed to overcome the established limitations of existing polyclonal antibody based FLC assay

La selva e il colle. La ermeneutica dei generi nel primo canto dell'Inferno

L'articolo legge il primo canto dell'Inferno secondo la prospettiva della ermeneutica dei generi sessuali. La iniziale contrapposizione, che criminalizza il femminile come genere basso e negativo nella linea della misoginia antica e medievale, si trasforma, nella seconda parte del canto, in una visione modernamente complementare dei generi, nella quale il femminile viene anzi ridefinito come categoria culturalmente alta e positiva

Carbohydrate quality and human health:a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Background: Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses explaining the relationship between carbohydrate quality and health have usually examined a single marker and a limited number of clinical outcomes. We aimed to more precisely quantify the predictive potential of several markers, to determine which markers are most useful, and to establish an evidence base for quantitative recommendations for intakes of dietary fibre. Methods: We did a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of prospective studies published from database inception to April 30, 2017, and randomised controlled trials published from database inception to Feb 28, 2018, which reported on indicators of carbohydrate quality and non-communicable disease incidence, mortality, and risk factors. Studies were identified by searches in PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and by hand searching of previous publications. We excluded prospective studies and trials reporting on participants with a chronic disease, and weight loss trials or trials involving supplements. Searches, data extraction, and bias assessment were duplicated independently. Robustness of pooled estimates from random-effects models was considered with sensitivity analyses, meta-regression, dose-response testing, and subgroup analyses. The GRADE approach was used to assess quality of evidence. Findings: Just under 135 million person-years of data from 185 prospective studies and 58 clinical trials with 4635 adult participants were included in the analyses. Observational data suggest a 15–30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumers Clinical trials show significantly lower bodyweight, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol when comparing higher with lower intakes of dietary fibre. Risk reduction associated with a range of critical outcomes was greatest when daily intake of dietary fibre was between 25 g and 29 g. Dose-response curves suggested that higher intakes of dietary fibre could confer even greater benefit to protect against cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal and breast cancer. Similar findings for whole grain intake were observed. Smaller or no risk reductions were found with the observational data when comparing the effects of diets characterised by low rather than higher glycaemic index or load. The certainty of evidence for relationships between carbohydrate quality and critical outcomes was graded as moderate for dietary fibre, low to moderate for whole grains, and low to very low for dietary glycaemic index and glycaemic load. Data relating to other dietary exposures are scarce. Interpretation: Findings from prospective studies and clinical trials associated with relatively high intakes of dietary fibre and whole grains were complementary, and striking dose-response evidence indicates that the relationships to several non-communicable diseases could be causal. Implementation of recommendations to increase dietary fibre intake and to replace refined grains with whole grains is expected to benefit human health. A major strength of the study was the ability to examine key indicators of carbohydrate quality in relation to a range of non-communicable disease outcomes from cohort studies and randomised trials in a single study. Our findings are limited to risk reduction in the population at large rather than those with chronic disease. Funding: Health Research Council of New Zealand, WHO, Riddet Centre of Research Excellence, Healthier Lives National Science Challenge, University of Otago, and the Otago Southland Diabetes Research Trust

Evaluating shear test methods for stabilised rammed earth

Rammed earth is an accessible, sustainable and increasingly popular building material. Owing to a lack of research, current design standards for rammed earth have taken a conservative stance on material attributes like shear strength. Evaluating the shear strength of rammed earth is particularly important in seismic areas because of the material's high mass, low ductility and propensity to fail in shear. Shear test methods designed for other materials have typically been used in practice to determine the shear strength of rammed earth. In this research the design shear strength guidance available in current earth building standards was compared with experimental shear strength results for stabilised rammed earth. The triaxial (geotechnical) and triplet (masonry) tests were used to evaluate specimens reinforced with natural fibres: sisal and New Zealand flax. Both shear test methods showed that the shear strength capacity of cement-stabilised rammed earth was greater than the current guidance provided in the earth building standards. Recommendations were made to use the triaxial test to evaluate the shear strength of stabilised rammed earth and to allow the use of design shear strength equal to 7% of the compressive strength. </jats:p