Intangible investments & accounting numbers : usefulness, informativeness, and relevance on the European stock markets.

This study investigates whether European domestic GAAPs used for intangibles recognition prior to the IFRS adoption exhibit major differences while examining the relationship between a firm's economic (financial, operating and competitive) performance and its recognized intangible investment (RII). Using a five-European-country sample over the pre-IFRS compliance period 1993-2004, we first provide evidence that, independently of the intangibles accounting recognition practices, investors adopt a short-term perspective or "myopic view" while constructing their portfolios by penalizing firms with high RII. Secondly, contrary to the resource-based view, our results suggest that RII do not underpin under any accounting treatment better competitive position inside a specific industry. Finally, our findings clearly support the idea that EU continental accounting standards, while opposed to Anglo-Saxon settings, ease the relationship existing between RII and firm operating performance. This last result would suggest that IFRS adoption could lead to disconnect operating margins from RII and subsequently challenge the widespread claim that IFRS help produce higher-quality reporting about a firm's operating activities.R&D; Intangible investments; accounting numbers; informativeness; usefulness; value-relevance;

INVESTISSEMENT IMMATERIEL ET UTILITE DE L'INFORMATION COMPTABLE : ETUDE EMPIRIQUE SUR LES MARCHES FINANCIERS EUROPEENS

Motivée par les récents travaux de Lev [2001b ; 2004] et les débats actuels de l'IASB portant sur la traduction comptable de l'investissement immatériel (ci-après IIM), cette étude empirique pose la question de l'utilité de l'information comptable face à de tels investissements. A l'aide d'un échantillon d'entreprises issues de quatre marchés financiers de la zone euro – Grande-Bretagne, Allemagne, France et Espagne – nous tentons (1) de quantifier les liens existant entre l'information comptable en matière d'IIM et les performances économique et concurrentielle, et (2) d'appréhender la perception de ces informations par les marchés financiers sur la période 1993-2003. Nos résultats indiquent que : (1) quelque soit le marché financier étudié les investisseurs semblent adopter une vision “myopique” dans le processus de construction de leur portefeuille, en pénalisant, sur le court terme, les entreprises reportant des IIMs élevés dans leurs états financiers ; (2) l'IIM semble faiblement relié au positionnement concurrentiel des entreprises. (3) Par ailleurs, les référentiels « latins », par opposition au référentiel anglo-saxon permettraient de relier la performance économique aux éléments immatériels, générateurs de diminution de coûts d'exploitation. Ce dernier résultat suggérerait que l'application des normes internationales au plan européen pourrait entraîner une déconnection progressive entre la mesure comptable des marges opérationnelles et la reconnaissance des immatériels dont l'évaluation, en référentiel IFRS, est plus orientée vers les marchés financiersCapital immatériel; utilité de l'information comptable; value-relevance;performance

Investissement immatériel et utilité de l'information comptable: Etude empirique sur les marchés financiers européens.

Résumé: Motivée par les récents travaux de Lev [2001b ; 2004] et les débats actuels de l’IASB portant sur la traduction comptable de l’investissement immatériel (ci-après IIM), cette étude empirique pose la question de l’utilité de l’information comptable face à de tels investissements. A l’aide d’un échantillon d’entreprises issues de quatre marchés financiers de la zone euro – Grande-Bretagne, Allemagne, France et Espagne – nous tentons (1) de quantifier les liens existant entre l’information comptable en matière d’IIM et les performances économique et concurrentielle, et (2) d’appréhender la perception de ces informations par les marchés financiers sur la période 1993-2003. Nos résultats indiquent que : (1) quelque soit le marché financier étudié les investisseurs semblent adopter une vision “myopique” dans le processus de construction de leur portefeuille, en pénalisant, sur le court terme, les entreprises reportant des IIMs élevés dans leurs états financiers ; (2) l’IIM semble faiblement relié au positionnement concurrentiel des entreprises. (3) Par ailleurs, les référentiels « latins », par opposition au référentiel anglo-saxon permettraient de relier la performance économique aux éléments immatériels, générateurs de diminution de coûts d’exploitation. Ce dernier résultat suggérerait que l’application des normes internationales au plan européen pourrait entraîner une déconnection progressive entre la mesure comptable des marges opérationnelles et la reconnaissance des immatériels dont l’évaluation, en référentiel IFRS, est plus orientée vers les marchés financiers.Abstract: Motivated by the recent works by Lev [2001b ; 2004] and the current debate surrounding the international financial reporting standard n°38 (i.e. IAS 38) adoption related to reported intangible investment issues, this study investigates whether European firms using national generally accounting principles (hereafter, GAAP) exhibit differences while considering the relationship between firm performance and reported intangible investment. Using a four-representative-European-country (i.e. France, Germany, Spain and U.K.) dynamic data panel, we investigate whether intangible accounting numbers in these different settings can be significantly linked, during the period 1993-2003, to the following firm performance triptych: financial, operational and competitive performance. Our findings bring us towards the following three concerns: (1) Firstly, in any stock market under scope, we do find clear evidence that while constructing their investment portfolios investors adopt a short-term perspective or “myopic view” by precluding firms from reporting high intangible investment in their financial statements. (2) Secondly, we do not find any evidence that reported intangible investments regardless the national GAAPs underpin a better competitive position inside a specific market. We conclude that relationship between reported intangibles and the firms’ competitive advantage (or disadvantage) should not be held constant in future research designs. (3) Finally, our results clearly support the idea that Latin accounting frameworks, while opposed to Anglo-Saxon settings, ease the relationship recognition occurring between intangibles and the firm operational performance. This last result would suggest that IAS implementation could lead to disconnect progressively operational margins from reported intangibles as their valuations are, under IFRS, overall market-oriented.Capital immatériel; Utilité de l’information comptable; Value-relevance; Performance.; Intangible investments; Accounting numbers; Informativeness; Usefulness; Relevance;

Pathogenesis of Hendra and Nipah virus infection in humans

Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are emerging zoonotic viruses that cause severe and often lethal respiratory illness and encephalitis in humans. Henipaviruses can infect a wide range of species and human-to-human transmission has been observed for NiV. While the exact route of transmission in humans is not known, experimental infection in different animal species suggests that infection can be efficiently initiated after respiratory challenge. The limited data on histopathological changes in fatal human cases of HeV and NiV suggest that endothelial cells are an important target during the terminal stage of infection; however, it is unknown where these viruses initially establish infection and how the virus disseminates from the respiratory tract to the central nervous system and other organs. Here we review the current concepts in henipavirus pathogenesis in humans

Oxidative stress in Nipah virus-infected human small airway epithelial cells

Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic emerging pathogen that can cause severe and often fatal respiratory disease in humans. The pathogenesis of NiV infection of the human respiratory tract remains unknown. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by airway epithelial cells in response to viral infections contribute to lung injury by inducing inflammation and oxidative stress; however, the role of ROS in NiV-induced respiratory disease is unknown. To investigate whethe

Characterization of Nipah virus infection in a model of human airway epithelial cells cultured at an air–liquid interface

Nipah virus (NiV) is an emerging paramyxovirus that can cause lethal respiratory illness in humans. No vaccine/therapeutic is currently licensed for humans. Human-to-human transmission was previously reported during outbreaks and NiV could be isolated from respiratory secretions, but the proportion of cases in Malaysia exhibiting respiratory symptoms was significantly lower than that in Bangladesh. Previously, we showed that primary human basal respiratory epithelial cells are susceptible to both NiV-Malaysia (M) and -Bangladesh (B) strains causing robust pro-inflammatory responses. However, the cells of the human respiratory epithelium that NiV targets are unknown and their role in NiV transmission and NiV-related lung pathogenesis is still poorly understood. Here, we characterized NiV infection of the human respiratory epithelium using a model of the human tracheal/bronchial (B-ALI) and small airway (S-ALI) epithelium cultured at an air–liquid interface. We show that NiV-M and NiV-B infect ciliated and secretory cells in B/S-ALI, and that infection of S-ALI, but not B-ALI, results in disruption of the epithelium integrity and host responses recruiting human immune cells. Interestingly, NiV-B replicated more efficiently in B-ALI than did NiV-M. These results suggest that the human tracheal/bronchial epithelium is favourable to NiV replication and shedding, while inducing a limited host response. Our data suggest that the small airways epithelium is prone to inflammation and lesions as well as constituting a point of virus entry into the pulmonary vasculature. The use of relevant models of the human respiratory tract, such as B/S-ALI, is critical for understanding NiV-related lung pathogenesis and identifying the underlying mechanisms allowing human-to-human transmission

Henipavirus pathogenesis in human respiratory epithelial cells

Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV) are deadly zoonotic viruses for which no vaccines or therapeutics are licensed for human use. Henipavirus infection causes severe respiratory illness and encephalitis. Although the exact route of transmission in human is unknown, epidemiological studies and in vivo studies suggest that the respiratory tract is important for virus replication. However, the target cells in the respiratory tract are unknown, as are the mechanisms by which henipaviruses can cause disease. In this study, we characterized henipavirus pathogenesis using primary cells derived from the human respiratory tract. The growth kinetics of NiV-Malaysia, NiV-Bangladesh, and HeV were determined in bronchial/ tracheal epithelial cells (NHBE) and small airway epithelial cells (SAEC). In addition, host responses to infection were assessed by gene expression analysis and immunoassays. Viruses replicated efficiently in both cell types and induced large syncytia. The host response to henipavirus infection in NHBE and SAEC highlighted a difference in the inflammatory response between HeV and NiV strains as well as intrinsic differences in the ability to mount an inflammatory response between NHBE and SAEC. These responses were highest during HeV infection in SAEC, as characterized by the levels of key cytokines (interleukin 6 [IL-6], IL-8, IL-1α, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 [MCP-1], and colony-stimulating factors) responsible for immune cell recruitment. Finally, we identified virus strain-dependent variability in type I interferon antagonism in NHBE and SAEC: NiV-Malaysia counteracted this pathway more efficiently than NiV-Bangladesh and HeV. These results provide crucial new information in the understanding of henipavirus pathogenesis in the human respiratory tract at an early stage of infection

AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Bases moléculaires du pouvoir pathogène et développement d une méthode de quantification différentielle des quatre brinsgénomiques chez l Avibirnavirus de la bursite infectieuse

La bursite infectieuse est une maladie des jeunes poulets (espèce Gallus gallus) provoquée par un virus (IBDV, famille Birnaviridae, genre Avibirnavirus) à génome bisegmenté (A & B) composé d ARN double-brin. Le cycle viral est peu documenté concernant le moment et le lieu de synthèse des brins positifs et négatifs. Dans une première partie de cette étude, une technique de RT-PCR quantitative en temps réel spécifique de chacun des brins des deux segments a été développée. L application de celle-ci à des particules virales d IBDV purifiées ainsi qu à une cinétique de production de brins in-vitro renseigne respectivement sur le contenu génomique du virus ainsi que sur son mode de réplication. Ces résultats suggèrent, entre autres, que la synthèse des brins négatifs ne survient qu après le recrutement équimolaire des brins positifs A et B au sein de la particule virale. Dans une deuxième partie, les bases moléculaires du pouvoir pathogène ont été étudiées, le niveau de pathogénicité des souches étant variable et pouvant se traduire par une forte mortalité pour les souches les plus virulentes (vvIBDV). Cependant, aucun marqueur de pathogénicité n est clairement identifié. L étude s est effectuée à partir d un isolat (94432) faiblement pathogène (faible morbidité, pas de mortalité) malgré un génome phylogéniquement apparenté aux vvIBDV. Par la génétique inverse, des virus recombinants dérivés de 94432 ont été caractérisés in-vivo. Les résultats obtenus permettent de documenter un rôle important de la polymérase virale (codée par B) dans la réduction du pouvoir pathogène de 94432, et notamment de l acide aminé en position 276 dont l implication biologique est encore inconnue.Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) is an infectious disease of young chickens (Gallus gallus) caused by a bisegmented (A & B) double-stranded RNA genome virus (IBDV, family Birnaviridae, genus Avibirnavirus). The virus replication cycle is not fully described regarding the time and place of strand synthesis. In a first part of this study, four real-time quantitative RT-PCR methods, able to quantify specifically each strand of the IBDV genome, were developed. Implementation of these methods on purified IBDV particles and on a kinetic study of in-vitro strand production provided interesting data as to the possible genomic content of virus particles and to the replication model, respectively. These results suggest that negative strand synthesis occurs after equimolar positive strand (A & B) packaging inside nascent virus particle. Molecular basis of the pathogenicity have been investigated in a second study. Very virulent IBDV strain (vvIBDV) can induce important clinical sign and mortality rates but no reliable molecular marker has been definitely identified yet. This study was carried out on a field strain (94432) which, in spite of being phylogenetically related to vvIBDVs, does not induce any mortality and only low morbidity in chickens. Using a reverse genetic system associated to 94432, several recombinant derived-94432 viruses were characterized in-vivo. Results demonstrated an important contribution of the polymerase encoded-segment B, especially of one amino acid at position 276, in the reduced pathogenicity of 94432. The biological function of amino acid 276 remains unknown.RENNES1-BU Sciences Philo (352382102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Toward an understanding of the IAS 39 derecognition principles: An application to the factoring transactions' reporting

International audienceA recent report issued by the US-based audit company Ernst & Young (2006) stated that, in 2005, 23 out of the 39 French CAC 40 index companies initiated assets transfers. More specifically, 6 companies operated as transferee while 32 as assignor. Those transactions were mainly concerned with securitization and credit factoring issues. Besides, in 69% of the assets transfer cases, the companies did not derecognize the credit assets and only half of the listed firms under scrutiny provided additional disclosure regarding these operations. Similar observations can be made in other European continental countries (see Escaffre and Ramond, 2007; IFRIC, 2006a). This result highlights the current heterogeneity around the accounting treatment related to financial asset derecognition under international accounting standards and more specifically under IAS 39. Although IAS 39 contends that a financial asset derecognition should imply the transfer of both its contractual rights and most of its inherent risks to a counterparty, it fails to provide any readily-applicable models or methodologies necessary to meet these two criteria. Adopting the perspective from a credit factoring transaction ruled by civil code-based provisions, this paper aims to shed into light the potential current ambiguity and technicality surrounding the IAS 39 day-to-day application. For doing so, it first presents the IAS 39 derecognition features and then through a simple setting-based example discuss the (de)recognition of a credit assets transfer under IFRS while underlining some institutional perspectives for future standard interpretations