Effects of steroids on liver lipogenic and gluconeogenic enzymes : role of insulin and glucagon

Imperial Users onl

Examining the Effect of Joint and Dual Audits on Earnings Management Practices

The purpose of the paper is to determine the impact of the voluntary adoption of the joint external audit approach in reducing earnings management practices through accruals and real operations compared with the adoption of the dual external audit approach. The research follows a quantitative approach to collect and analyze data from companies listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange during the period 2010-2014. 104 firm-year observations are tested in the sample. The findings of the empirical study shows evidence that there are consistent earnings management practices in the studied sample regardless of the type of audit (joint or dual). There is a negative association between joint audit and discretionary accruals compared to dual audit. This means that firms with joint audit are less engaged in accrual earnings management practices. In addition, large firms that adopt joint audit are less engaged in accrual earnings management. However, there is no effect of joint audit on real earnings management practices compared to dual audit. Our results are consistent for firm size, profitability and leverage. Both firm profitability and leverage show positive association with earnings management practices while size did not have a significant effect on either type of practice. Finally, we find that firms with high (low) profitability that adopt joint audits are less (more) likely to engage in real earnings management practices. Our results are of use to regulators, external auditors and investors.</jats:p

Prognostic utility of negative stress/rest myocardial SPECT studies among patients with different clinical categories of chronic kidney disease: Data from an Egyptian cohort

AbstractPrognostic value of negative myocardial SPECT study is well established. However, patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are a special group showing increased risk of cardiac events. We thought to investigate the prognostic value of negative SPECT study among patients on regular hemodialysis compared to other clinical categories of CKD.Methods186 consecutive patients with CKD and negative SPECT study were enrolled. 93 (50%) were on hemodialysis with an eGFR<30mL/min/1.73m2 (Group I); 25 (13.4%) had uncomplicated renal transplantation with eGFR between 45 and 90mL/min/1.73m2 (Group II) and 68 (36.6%) with CKD on conservative management and no prior history of hemodialysis (eGFR between 30 and 60mL/min/1.73m2), Group (III). End points (CD, STEMI/NSTEMI, need for revascularization and hospitalized HF) were traced at 6months, one year and 2years.ResultsTotal events in all groups were 5 (2.70%) at 6months, and 18 (9.70%) and 36 (19.30%) at one year and 2years respectively. At one year 16 (17.20%) cardiac events happened in Group I compared to one (4.0%) and one (1.50%) event(s) in Groups II and III respectively (p values 0.001). At 2years, 29 (31.20%) cardiac events happened in Group I while 2 (8.0%) and 5 (7.30%) happened in Groups II and III respectively (p values 0.01, 0.001 respectively). eGFR and duration of hemodialysis were the independent predictors of cardiac events.ConclusionDespite negative MPI study, patients on hemodialysis showed higher event (including CD, STEMI/NSTEMI and revascularization) rate at one and 2years of follow-up compared to other clinical categories of CKD

AUDIT REPORT LAG: DO COMPANY CHARACTERISTICS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE FACTORS MATTER? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM LEBANESE COMMERCIAL BANKS

The objective of this study is to investigate the determinants (company specific characteristics and corporate governance factors) of audit report lag (ARL) in a developing country, namely, Lebanon. This paper adds and contributes to the limited literature that investigated the determinants of ARL in the developing Middle East countries through focusing on the Lebanese context. The study is carried out depending on a sample of Lebanese commercial banks operating in Lebanon, covering the period from 2012 to 2017. The researchers used the multiple regression analysis to examine the impact of the explanatory variables on ARL. The results show a significant relationship between ARL and each of bank size, leverage, board independence, board diligence, audit committee (AC) independence, and AC diligence. The regression outcomes reveal that banks with longer ARL are smaller, have higher leverage, their boards and ACs are less diligence, their boards are more independent, and their ACs include less independent and non-executive members

Mixing Within Patterned Vortex Core

The video shows the flow dynamics within inner and outer regions of a vortex core. The observed phenomena mimic a transport process occurring within the Antarctic vortex. The video shows two distinct regions: a strongly mixed core and broad ring of weakly mixed region extending out the vortex core boundaries. The two regions are separated by a thin layer that isolates the weakly and strongly mixed regions; this thin layer behaves as barrier to the mixing of the two regions. The video shows that the barriers deplete when a swirl of the vortex core increases and the vortex core espouses a triangular pattern.Comment: 62nd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Dynamics, Fluid Dynamics Vide

Off versus On pump coronary artery bypass grafting; a single-center experience

Background: The debate about on-pump vs. off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) continues. The present study compared the short-term outcomes after off-pump vs. on-pump CABG. Methods: The study was conducted on 67 patients who underwent CABG from 2021 to 2022. Patients were divided into two groups according to the CABG technique. Group 1 included 33 patients who underwent off-pump CABG, and Group 2 included 34 patients who underwent on-pump CABG. The study outcomes were operative time, hospital complications, and mortality. Results: On-pump patients were significantly older than off-pump patients (64.78±7.12 vs. 59.09±6.29; p= 0.004). There were no differences in comorbidities, presenting symptoms, or ejection fraction between groups. Operative time was significantly shorter in off-pump patients (227.47±13.73 vs. 321.12±27.49; p&lt; 0.001). Blood transfusion was lower in off-pump patients (1.06± 0.311 vs. 1.79± 0.25; p&lt; 0.001). Bleeding was lower in off-pump patients (0.81±0.13 vs. 0.91±0.20 ml, p= 0.01). Off-pump patients had significantly shorter ICU (3.5±2.6 vs. 4.9±4.7; p&lt;0.001) and hospital stay (7.6±4.8 vs. 9.5±6.1; p&lt;0.001). No patient had reexploration for bleeding, wound infection, or mortality in our series. One patient had renal impairment in the on-pump group (p&gt;0.99). Conclusion: Off-pump and on-pump CABG seem to be safe approaches for managing coronary artery disease in our institution. Off-pump could be superior to on-pump CABG regarding shorter ICU and hospital stay. Studies with data from a large number of patients are recommended

THE IMPACT OF INTERACTIVE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION QUALITY DETERMINANTS AND COORDINATION ON AUDIT REPORT LAG

The current study has three main objectives: (1) to investigate the joint impact of internal audit function (IAF) independence factors and competence on the coordination between IAF and external auditor (EA); (2) to examine the effect of coordination on audit report lag; (3) to investigate the joint impact of IAF independence factors and competence on audit report lag. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge there is no previous study shed the light on the interactive impact of IAF quality determinants on coordination and on audit delay. In addition, this study is the first that examines the mediating effect of coordination on the associations between the interactive IAF quality determinants and audit report lag. This paper is conducted based on a sample of Lebanese banks operating in Lebanon, focusing on the three-year period from 2016 to 2018. The researchers adopt the Partial Least Square (PLS) 3 for analyzing data and testing the posited hypotheses. The results show that the first and second interactions between IAF independence factors and competence have respectively moderate and weak positive effect on coordination. The outcomes also show that the first and second interactions have respectively weak and moderate negative effect on audit report lag. However, both coordination and bank size (control variable) have no effect on audit report lag. The results also reveal that there is no mediating effect of coordination on the associations between each of interaction (1) and (2) and audit report lag. This study has some limitations that can be used as base for further future research. For example, the current paper is conducted on a small sample size that may limit the power of this research to generalize its findings. The results of this study provide significant insights to the board of directors, audit committees (ACs), IAFs, managements, and EAs of the Lebanese banking sector, and the governmental and regulatory bodies of the banking sector

Intense intrafamilial transmission of HBV in a rural area in Egypt is a probable cause of non-response to vaccination: A cross-sectional-seroprevalence-community-study.

Background:&nbsp;Worldwide, the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is decreasing particularly in the vaccinated population. However, there are foci of increased transmission particularly in localized communities and within families.&nbsp;Objective:&nbsp;This study aimed at identifying HBV infection status among family members (FMs) of a cohort of HBsAg positive index cases (ICs) living in a village near Ismailia City, North-East Egypt.&nbsp;Design and participants:&nbsp;The study targeted ICs with chronic hepatitis B and their FMs. All were inquired for socio-demographic data, previous vaccination, kinship, and risk factors. All were tested for hepatitis markers and in HBcAb positive sera, HBV DNA and ALT were added.&nbsp;Results:&nbsp;The study included 96 participants including 14 ICs, 51 (53.1%) were females and 73 (76%) self-reported receiving hepatitis B vaccine after birth. Among 82 FMs, HBcAb was found in 49 (59.76%) of whom overt and occult HBV were diagnosed in 24 (49%) and 18 (36.7%). HBs Ag and HBcAb were more frequent in unvaccinated compared to vaccinated FMs; being 60.9% vs. 32.9% for HBsAg (p &lt; /em&gt;=0.017) and 91.3% vs. 57.5% for HBcAb (p &lt; /em&gt;=0.003). Among the FMs, active HBV were more related to male than female ICs (54.9% vs. 45.2%,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.73) while among children, it is more related to females more than male ICs (38.9% vs. 25%,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.33). In all HBsAg positive participants, HBeAg was negative and HBV DNA load was higher among female than male ICs (median 3500 vs. 2594.5 IU/mL,&nbsp;p &lt; /em&gt;=0.82).&nbsp;Conclusion:&nbsp;The study shows a high rate of HBV transmission among FMs of HBsAg carriers living in a remote area in North-East Egypt. Both overt and occult HBV infections were frequent despite previous vaccinatio