725 research outputs found
An evaluation of nutritional markers, volume 2
Use of nutritional markers for studies of food intake, passage, and absorption in gastrointestinal track of humans and animal
Mapping of Internal Audit Research: A Post-Enron Structured Literature Review
Purpose — This paper reviews the field of internal auditing (IA) post-Enron to develop insights
into how IA research has developed, offer a critique of the research to date and identify ways that
future research can help to advance IA.
Design/methodology/approach — A structured literature review (SLR) was used to analyse 471
papers from 64 journals published between 2005 and 2018 based on a number of criteria; namely,
author, journal type, journal location, year, theme, theory, nature of research, research setting,
regional focus, method and citations.
Findings — The IA literature has not significantly contributed to knowledge of the internal audit
function (IAF), and we still know relatively little about the factors that contribute to making the
impact of IA practice effective and measurable. The IA literature is US dominated (authors and
journals), focused on the American context (publicly listed companies), reliant on positivist
analyses and largely makes no explicit reference to theory. Central regions (emerging economies)
and key organisational settings (private SMEs and not-for-profit organisations) are largely absent in
prior IA research. This paper evaluates and identifies avenues through which future research can
help to advance IA in order to address emerging challenges in the field.
Originality/value — This is the first comprehensive review to analyse IA research in the postEnron period (2005–2018). The findings are relevant to researchers who are looking for appropriate
research outlets and emerging scholars who wish to identify their own research directions.
Keywords — Internal audit, internal audit function, structured literature review, Enron
Paper type — Literature revie
Prognostic Factors for the Development of Biochemical Recurrence after Radical Prostatectomy
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in Western countries and is associated with a considerable risk of mortality. Biochemical recurrence following radical prostatectomy is a relatively common finding, affecting approximately 25% of cases. The aim of our paper was to identify factors that can predict the occurrence of biochemical recurrence, so the patient can be properly counselled pre- and postoperatively. Medline review of the literatures was done followed by a group discussion on the chosen publications and their valuable influence. Preoperative serum total PSA and clinical stage, together with prostatectomy Gleason grade, tumour volume, and perineural and vascular invasions, were the most important variables found to influence outcome
Information technology in the British and Irish undergraduate accounting degrees
Using an online questionnaire and a series of semi-structured interviews, this study seeks the perceptions ofaccounting educators and professional accounting bodies in the UK and Ireland on the status quo of technologicaldevelopments within accounting curricula and the factors influencing this status quo. Findings suggest a fairlywidespread view that technological developments represent an important area that should be covered acrossaccounting curricula, to expose changes in the marketplace and to enhance the employability of graduates.However, it is still a peripheral component in accounting curricula, with no clear agenda for change. Professionalaccounting bodies seem to play a hegemonic inhibiting role through accreditation requirements although otherinhibitors were reported such as lack of competent/interested staff and lack of time/space in already overloadedsyllabi
DNA ploidy and morphology of colon tumors in the adenoma - carcinoma sequence
Introduction. Chromosomal changes are widespread in the vast majority of colon
carcinomas and aneuploidy is an established prognostic factor. However, this
knowledge so far has no influence on tumor classification. We reported a
morphology-based classification scheme, the core classification, that
correlates with DNA ploidy. In particular, tripolar mitoses were identified as
surrogate markers of a near triploid DNA content. In addition, a survey on
chromosome numbers and survival rates in carcinomas suggested that triploidy
as a particular state of aneuploidy may be correlated with a more aggressive
tumor phenotype. We therefore aimed to analyse DNA ploidy in the colorectal
adenoma–carcinoma sequence. Material and methods. The study collection
consisted of 15 adenomas and 15 adenocarcinomas of 10 patients. Some of them
showed a morphological transition between benign and malignant tumor
components which were selectively analysed by DNA measurements. In addition,
we assessed the morphological parameters of the core classification. Results.
The main findings of the study may be summarized as follows. 1) DNA ploidy
changes are already consistently detectable in colon adenomas. They are
usually associated with hyperdiploidy. 2) Adenoma tissue adjacent to
carcinomas, however, may carry a hypodiploid DNA content while the nearby
carcinoma samples were hyperdiploid. Hypodiploidy may thus represent a
transition state to near triploid carcinomas. 3) The size of tumor nuclei and
mitoses usually reflects the ploidy level of colon tumors. Specifically,
triploid mitoses may point to a near triploid DNA content. 4) Triploidy per se
cannot be equated with tumor aggressiveness as it may already be found in
adenocarcinoma in situ. 5) Tripolar and tetrapolar mitoses in invasive colon
cancer, however, are potential indicators of an advanced chromosomal
instability and seemed to be associated with advanced tumor stages.
Conclusions. We present data that hypodiploidy may represent a transition
state from adenoma to carcinoma in a subset of colorectal tumors and that
near-triploidy may be associated with a more aggressive course of the disease.
However, the interpretation of tripolar mitoses and triploidy is largely
dependent on the cell type (benign vs. malignant) and tissue context (invasive
vs. non-invasive cancer). Furthermore, its interpretation may be distinct for
different tumor stages and histotypes. Aneuploidy and multipolar mitoses are
frequent findings in cancer cells. Their relevance for tumor biology deserves
further studies
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