The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Forensic Accounting and Testimony--Congress Should Amend The Daubert Rule to Include a New Standard

This Essay attempts to address the current issues and legal implications surrounding the use of artificial intelligence by forensic accounting experts and its importance to forensic accounting research. It reviews existing law, proposes changes to the Federal Rules of Evidence for using artificial intelligence in the courtroom, and covers emerging technology a forensic accountant may encounter, such as blockchain, cryptocurrency, “smart contracts,” machine learning, and algorithmic entities. Finally, the Essay concludes that the changes to the rules should encompass standards to account for artificial intelligence reliability and argues forensic accounting experts and all forensic experts are needed even more in light of this new technology to assist the trier of fact in its deliberations

Sc substitution for Mg in MgB2: effects on Tc and Kohn anomaly

Here we report synthesis and characterization of Mg_{1-x}Sc_{x}B_{2} (0.12T_{c}>6 K. We find that the Sc doping moves the chemical potential through the 2D/3D electronic topological transition (ETT) in the sigma band where the ``shape resonance" of interband pairing occurs. In the 3D regime beyond the ETT we observe a hardening of the E_{2g} Raman mode with a significant line-width narrowing due to suppression of the Kohn anomaly over the range 0<q<2k_{F}.Comment: 8 pages, 4 EPS figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Digital transformation and tourist experience co-design: big social data for planning cultural tourism

Digital transformation has completely changed the demand/offering interaction in the travel industry, as well as largely affecting the customer journey. In this direction, “big social data” and user-generated content have become key sources of well-timed and rich knowledge supporting data driven decision approaches addressed the managing of complex relationships. Based on this theoretical framework, the paper suggests how to apply “big social data” in the tourist experience co-design, providing an increased value for the visitors and a better decision making approach for managers. In this respect, the field analysis concentrated specifically on user-generated content regarding the Pompeii Archaeological Site (P.A.S.), to trace valuable insights for the tourist experience. Based on double stage of research – netnographic analysis and a supplementary online survey – the study aimed to detect: (a) tourist perception on the P.A.S.; (b) random chat on the part of internet users (tourists and other browsers, not necessarily visitors) on the topic of the P.A.S.; (c) the main characteristics of the P.A.S. that attract internet user attention; (d) the main topics debated by influencers/opinion leaders managing online discussions on the P.A.S. managerial and theoretical implications were investigated highlighting the main limitations of the study as well

HIV awareness: A kap study among students in Italy reveals that preventive campaigns still represent a public health priority

Background. Improving knowledge about HIV/AIDS among young people is crucial for preventing new infections. The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV infection among students attending university courses related to the healthcare professions, in order to better target future preventive and informative HIV campaigns tailored for young people. Study Design. A knowledge, attitude and practices study was conducted among university students attending the following university courses in Bari (Southern Italy): Medicine and Surgery (MS), Dentistry and Dental Prostheses, Health Assistance, Motor Activities and Sports Sciences, Sciences and Technology of Herbal and Health Products, Nursing, Biomedical Laboratory Techniques, and Dietetics. Methods. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge/attitudes re/ HIV and their own sexual practices. The general part of the questionnaire requested information about age, gender, nationality, religion and marital status. The second part included questions asking about knowledge, attitude and practices with respect to HIV, which required true/false answers or graduated answers (reported as agree, quite agree, quite disagree, and disagree). Results. Four hundred students were invited to fill in the questionnaire. The response rate was 91.2% (n=365). Almost all students were aware that HIV is transmitted through sexual intercourse and blood, but only 34% knew that breastfeeding is a route of transmission. Of the respondents, 86.8% referred to previous sexual intercourse (25.8% reported using a condom in all cases of sexual intercourse, 43.5% in most cases, 18.6% rarely and 12.1 never). Sexual intercourse with casual partners was reported by 37.5% of these students and 63.9% of them did not always use a condom. Conclusions. The results of the study show that knowledge about some aspects of HIV is insufficient even though the students participating in the present study are students attending university courses related to the healthcare professions. Moreover, high-risk behaviors as the lack of the use of condom during sexual intercourse with casual partners are also common among interviewed students. Programs aimed at providing information that can prevent/reduce transmission of HIV in young people and new strategies to improve knowledge should be stressed as a public health priority

Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier protects from excitotoxic neuronal death.

Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, but under conditions of metabolic stress it can accumulate to excitotoxic levels. Although pharmacologic modulation of excitatory amino acid receptors is well studied, minimal consideration has been given to targeting mitochondrial glutamate metabolism to control neurotransmitter levels. Here we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) protects primary cortical neurons from excitotoxic death. Reductions in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake do not compromise cellular energy metabolism, suggesting neuronal metabolic flexibility. Rather, MPC inhibition rewires mitochondrial substrate metabolism to preferentially increase reliance on glutamate to fuel energetics and anaplerosis. Mobilizing the neuronal glutamate pool for oxidation decreases the quantity of glutamate released upon depolarization and, in turn, limits the positive-feedback cascade of excitotoxic neuronal injury. The finding links mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism to glutamatergic neurotransmission and establishes the MPC as a therapeutic target to treat neurodegenerative diseases characterized by excitotoxicity

Posttranscriptional Upregulation of IDH1 by HuR Establishes a Powerful Survival Phenotype in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Cancer aggressiveness may result from the selective pressure of a harsh nutrient-deprived microenvironment. Here we illustrate how such conditions promote chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Glucose or glutamine withdrawal resulted in a 5- to 10-fold protective effect with chemotherapy treatment. PDAC xenografts were less sensitive to gemcitabine in hypoglycemic mice compared with hyperglycemic mice. Consistent with this observation, patients receiving adjuvant gemcitabine (n = 107) with elevated serum glucose levels (HgbA1C \u3e 6.5%) exhibited improved survival. We identified enhanced antioxidant defense as a driver of chemoresistance in this setting. ROS levels were doubled in vitro by either nutrient withdrawal or gemcitabine treatment, but depriving PDAC cells of nutrients before gemcitabine treatment attenuated this effect. Mechanistic investigations based on RNAi or CRISPR approaches implicated the RNA binding protein HuR in preserving survival under nutrient withdrawal, with or without gemcitabine. Notably, RNA deep sequencing and functional analyses in HuR-deficient PDAC cell lines identified isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) as the sole antioxidant enzyme under HuR regulation. HuR-deficient PDAC cells lacked the ability to engraft successfully in immunocompromised mice, but IDH1 overexpression in these cells was sufficient to fully restore chemoresistance under low nutrient conditions. Overall, our findings highlight the HuR–IDH1 regulatory axis as a critical, actionable therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer

Adipose tissue mTORC2 regulates ChREBP-driven de novo lipogenesis and hepatic glucose metabolism

Adipose tissue de novo lipogenesis (DNL) positively influences insulin sensitivity, is reduced in obesity, and predicts insulin resistance. Therefore, elucidating mechanisms controlling adipose tissue DNL could lead to therapies for type 2 diabetes. Here, we report that mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) functions in white adipose tissue (WAT) to control expression of the lipogenic transcription factor ChREBPbeta. Conditionally deleting the essential mTORC2 subunit Rictor in mature adipocytes decreases ChREBPbeta expression, which reduces DNL in WAT, and impairs hepatic insulin sensitivity. Mechanistically, Rictor/mTORC2 promotes ChREBPbeta expression in part by controlling glucose uptake, but without impairing pan-AKT signalling. High-fat diet also rapidly decreases adipose tissue ChREBPbeta expression and insulin sensitivity in wild-type mice, and does not further exacerbate insulin resistance in adipose tissue Rictor knockout mice, implicating adipose tissue DNL as an early target in diet-induced insulin resistance. These data suggest mTORC2 functions in WAT as part of an extra-hepatic nutrient-sensing mechanism to control glucose homeostasis

Digital transformation and tourist experience co-design: Big social data for planning cultural tourism

Digital transformation has completely changed the demand/offering interaction in the travel industry, as well as largely affecting the customer journey. In this direction, “big social data” and user-generated content have become key sources of well-timed and rich knowledge supporting data driven decision approaches addressed the managing of complex relationships. Based on this theoretical framework, the paper suggests how to apply “big social data” in the tourist experience co-design, providing an increased value for the visitors and a better decision making approach for managers. In this respect, the field analysis concentrated specifically on user-generated content regarding the Pompeii Archaeological Site (P.A.S.), to trace valuable insights for the tourist experience. Based on double stage of research – netnographic analysis and a supplementary online survey – the study aimed to detect: (a) tourist perception on the P.A.S.; (b) random chat on the part of internet users (tourists and other browsers, not necessarily visitors) on the topic of the P.A.S.; (c) the main characteristics of the P.A.S. that attract internet user attention; (d) the main topics debated by influencers/opinion leaders managing online discussions on the P.A.S. managerial and theoretical implications were investigated highlighting the main limitations of the study as well