La Hipótesis de la Profecia Autocumplida en la Evaluación de la Evidencia en el Contexto de la Gestión Continuada

Este estudio analiza si el valor otorgado a la evidencia a favor y en contra de la hipótesis de gestión continuada, se ve afectada por las percepciones que los auditores tienen sobre la validez de la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida. Hemos realizado un experimento en el que una muestra de auditores debe someter a estudio la continuidad de una hipotética empresa, basándose tanto en información financiera como en determinada evidencia tanto a favor como en contra de la continuidad de ésta. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que los auditores que muestran una fuerte creencia en la validez de la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida otorgan mayor valor probatorio a la evidencia a favor de la hipótesis de continuidad. Por el contrario, los auditores que no muestran una fuerte creencia en la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida otorgan un mayor valor probatorio a la evidencia en contra de la continuidad.This paper analyzes whether auditors are affected by the so called “self-fulfilling prophecy effect” (in terms of perceptions) when evaluating clients’ going concern status. We designed a laboratory experiment to examine auditors’ attitude to both negative and positive evidence in the case of a fictitious financially distressed client. Our results show that those auditors more sensitive to the self-fulfilling prophecy effect offered a higher tendency to rely on the negative factors. On the other hand, those auditors less worried about the self-fulfilling prophecy effect showed a higher tendency to rely on the positive factors

Automated blood culture systems

This review compares automated systems of blood culture for the detection of positive bottles, excluding mycobacteria. The performance of different systems is influenced by several key variables, including volume of the blood sample, the use of resins, shaking to increase the recovery of aerobic microorganisms, duration of incubation and final subculture. The Bactec, BacT/Alert, BioArgos and ESP systems require further study and technical improvement. There is no single ideal system of blood culture, and combinations of two or more methods are likely to provide the best results

Discretion in the application of the goodwill impairment test in European banks

In the absence of amortization of goodwill, the purpose of this study is to identify whether the impairment test was applied uniformly between 2005 and 2015 at the 45 biggest banks in Europe, during the first decade of IFRS application. Likewise, an attempt has been made to verify whether such application has been insufficient and late. Through a significant sample, statistical tools already widely used in other studies have been applied to contrast the behavior of entities. The results obtained show that impairment policies have been applied unevenly in each of the countries. These conclusions could support the return to a valuation pattern that takes into account the systematic amortization of goodwill, apart from its impairment. This paper reveals how impairment in European banks has been recognized during a crucial period of time that includes a major financial crisis. The study suggests a discretionary and opportunistic implementation of accounting regulations which does not reveal the economic conditions inherent to the financial activity of the leading European banks, making comparability difficult and, ultimately, making the financial information less relevant.Discrecionalidad en la aplicación del test de deterioro del fondo de comercio en la banca europea Dada la ausencia de amortización del fondo de comercio, el objetivo de esta investigación se concreta en identificar si el test de deterioro, entre los ejercicios 2005 y 2015, primera década de aplicación de las NIIF, ha sido aplicado de manera homogénea y coherente por los 45 mayores bancos europeos. Asimismo, se ha tratado de comprobar si dicha aplicación ha podido ser insuficiente y tardía. A través de una muestra significativa, se han aplicado herramientas estadísticas ampliamente utilizadas en otros estudios, para contrastar el comportamiento de las entidades. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que las políticas de deterioro han sido aplicadas de manera desigual en cada país. Estas conclusiones podrían soportar la vuelta a un patrón de valoración que considerase la amortización sistemática del fondo de comercio, aparte de su deterioro. El trabajo muestra la aplicación del deterioro en los bancos europeos, durante un periodo temporal de especial importancia, puesto que incluye los años de crisis financiera. El estudio sugiere una implementación de la normativa contable que puede ser calificada de discrecional y oportunista en la contabilización del fondo de comercio

La hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida en la evaluación de la evidencia en el contexto de la gestión continuada: The role played by the self fulfilling prophecy effect in the going concern evaluation process

This paper analyzes whether auditors are affected by the so called “self-fulfilling prophecy effect” (in terms of perceptions) when evaluating clients’ going concern status. We designed a laboratory experiment to examine auditors’ attitude to both negative and positive evidence in the case of a fictitious financially distressed client. Our results show that those auditors more sensitive to the self-fulfilling prophecy effect offered a higher tendency to rely on the negative factors. On the other hand, those auditors less worried about the self-fulfilling prophecy effect showed a higher tendency to rely on the positive factors.Este estudio analiza si el valor otorgado a la evidencia a favor y en contra de la hipótesis de gestión continuada, se ve afectada por las percepciones que los auditores tienen sobre la validez de la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida. Hemos realizado un experimento en el que una muestra de auditores debe someter a estudio la continuidad de una hipotética empresa, basándose tanto en información financiera como en determinada evidencia tanto a favor como en contra de la continuidad de ésta. Los resultados obtenidos sugieren que los auditores que muestran una fuerte creencia en la validez de la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida otorgan mayor valor probatorio a la evidencia a favor de la hipótesis de continuidad. Por el contrario, los auditores que no muestran una fuerte creencia en la hipótesis de la profecía autocumplida otorgan un mayor valor probatorio a la evidencia en contra de la continuidad.PALABRAS CLAVE: Gestión Continuada, Auditoría, Evaluación de la Evidencia, Profecía Autocumplid

Three-year study of antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi in southern Spain

The prevalence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies was studied in Granada, Spain, between January 1991 and November 1993 in 354 patients with suspected Lyme disease (group 1); in 50 patients either with syphilis (n = 32) or without syphilis but with a positive Rapid Plasma Reagin test (n = 18) (group 2); and in 150 healthy subjects (group 3). In addition, intrathecal antibody production was evaluated by EIA in CSF samples obtained from 117 patients in group 1. Anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies were detected by EIA in 58 patients (16.4%) in group 1, 29 (8.2%) of whom were positive by Western blot. Intrathecal antibody production was detected in one patient. In group 2, 8 (16%) patients had a positive EIA result, but none of these was confirmed by Western blot. western blot was negative for all subjects in group 3. The results of this study indicate that anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies are not uncommon in our area, although Lyme disease is rare

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates

Aim: To investigate the geographic patterns and ecological correlates in the geographic distribution of the most common tree dispersal modes in Amazonia (endozoochory, synzoochory, anemochory and hydrochory). We examined if the proportional abundance of these dispersal modes could be explained by the availability of dispersal agents (disperser-availability hypothesis) and/or the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits (resource-availability hypothesis). Time period: Tree-inventory plots established between 1934 and 2019. Major taxa studied: Trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 9.55 cm. Location: Amazonia, here defined as the lowland rain forests of the Amazon River basin and the Guiana Shield. Methods: We assigned dispersal modes to a total of 5433 species and morphospecies within 1877 tree-inventory plots across terra-firme, seasonally flooded, and permanently flooded forests. We investigated geographic patterns in the proportional abundance of dispersal modes. We performed an abundance-weighted mean pairwise distance (MPD) test and fit generalized linear models (GLMs) to explain the geographic distribution of dispersal modes. Results: Anemochory was significantly, positively associated with mean annual wind speed, and hydrochory was significantly higher in flooded forests. Dispersal modes did not consistently show significant associations with the availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits. A lower dissimilarity in dispersal modes, resulting from a higher dominance of endozoochory, occurred in terra-firme forests (excluding podzols) compared to flooded forests. Main conclusions: The disperser-availability hypothesis was well supported for abiotic dispersal modes (anemochory and hydrochory). The availability of resources for constructing zoochorous fruits seems an unlikely explanation for the distribution of dispersal modes in Amazonia. The association between frugivores and the proportional abundance of zoochory requires further research, as tree recruitment not only depends on dispersal vectors but also on conditions that favour or limit seedling recruitment across forest types

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim: Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location: Amazonia. Taxon: Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods: Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran\u27s eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results: In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R$^{2}$ = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R$^{2}$ = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion: Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

AimAmazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types.LocationAmazonia.TaxonAngiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots).MethodsData for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny.ResultsIn the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types.Main ConclusionNumerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions

Consistent patterns of common species across tropical tree communities

Trees structure the Earth’s most biodiverse ecosystem, tropical forests. The vast number of tree species presents a formidable challenge to understanding these forests, including their response to environmental change, as very little is known about most tropical tree species. A focus on the common species may circumvent this challenge. Here we investigate abundance patterns of common tree species using inventory data on 1,003,805 trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm across 1,568 locations1,2,3,4,5,6 in closed-canopy, structurally intact old-growth tropical forests in Africa, Amazonia and Southeast Asia. We estimate that 2.2%, 2.2% and 2.3% of species comprise 50% of the tropical trees in these regions, respectively. Extrapolating across all closed-canopy tropical forests, we estimate that just 1,053 species comprise half of Earth’s 800 billion tropical trees with trunk diameters of at least 10 cm. Despite differing biogeographic, climatic and anthropogenic histories7, we find notably consistent patterns of common species and species abundance distributions across the continents. This suggests that fundamental mechanisms of tree community assembly may apply to all tropical forests. Resampling analyses show that the most common species are likely to belong to a manageable list of known species, enabling targeted efforts to understand their ecology. Although they do not detract from the importance of rare species, our results open new opportunities to understand the world’s most diverse forests, including modelling their response to environmental change, by focusing on the common species that constitute the majority of their trees.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe