Accounting Firm Internet Sites That Work (And Those That Do Not)

Gives advice to accounting firms in creating and maintaining an effective Internet site. Items commonly found on the accounting firm Internet sites; Suggestions in building an Internet site; Most important aspect of Internet site content

The Internet: Changing the Way Corporations Tell Their Story

Discusses the effect of technological changes in the dissemination of financial information. Potential of the Internet to change the way decision makers can use the information; Future of financial disclosure

Silicon Valley Meets Norwalk

The article discusses financial reporting issues raised by the U. S. corporations in the increasing use of the Internet. The Internet is affecting traditional statements and audits as companies explore online options. Financial information is now easily available online, creating a new readership. CPAs must consider how to help make this information useful to the expanded public. Companies need to identify who will use their sites and provide appropriate features. Search engines help users connect information from all over a given Web site. Analysts may want to download financials into spreadsheets

The Incorporation of Novel Water-Soluble Potato Protein Extract in Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) Fillets Through Brine Injection Technology to Improve Quality

Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) is one of the most abundant fisheries on the American west coast. However, these fish are historically underutilized due to quality issues resulting from fillet softening that occurs as a result of both endogenous and exogenous (Myxosporidian parasite infection) cathepsin protease action during either storage (cathepsin B or H) or cooking (cathepsin L). As a result, fillets from Pacific whiting have struggled to find a domestic market. Currently, Pacific whiting is either converted into a mince that is utilized to produce surimi or sold as headed and gutted fish in foreign markets. A higher value product that is more common in the US market is the fresh or frozen fillet. As a result, research is needed to understand how to limit protease action in Pacific whiting fillets. Most of the research focused on limiting the proteolytic action of cathepsin proteases in Pacific whiting has been in surimi. Ingredients that have been blended into surimi to prevent protein degradation have included beef plasma protein, whey protein, egg white (EW), and potato extract (PE). The literature on incorporation of protease inhibiting ingredients through marinade (brine) injection directly into a fillet is limited. Previous work, in this laboratory, evaluated benchtop marinade injection of Pacific whiting fillets with 1, 2 or 3% EW or a crude (80% protein) acidified and non-acidified potato protein extracts were developed (Avebe, Veendam, Netherlands). The focus of this project was to determine their potential for use as a cathepsin enzyme inhibitory ingredient for marinade injection of Pacific whiting fillets. A preliminary study was conducted to determine both solubility and cathepsin enzyme inhibitory activity of refined, high protein content (>80%) non-acidified and acidified potato protein extracts. Solubility was evaluated by incorporating non-acidified or acidified extract into BB. Results indicated acidified extract was highly soluble and the non-acidified extract was only partially suspended. The acidified potato protein extract (PPE) was therefore selected for all subsequent evaluations. Cathepsin inhibitory activity was evaluated using Pacific whiting with visible parasitic infection as infected fish have heightened enzymatic levels. For the first experiment PPE, EW, or PE was incorporated into a BB at a concentration of 3%. Treated BB was incorporated into fish mince at a 10% by weight level. Cathepsin L activity was significantly (p EW > PE. The experiment was repeated using only PPE at 1.5%, 2.25%, and 3% concentrations. Results indicated no significant differences in the reduction of cathepsin L activity between the concentration levels. As a result, PPE was subsequently evaluated at even lower concentrations of 1%, 0.5% and 0.1%. All inhibitor concentrations showed similar cathepsin L activity reductions. Finally, the experiment was repeated using 0.1% PPE with cathepsin B, H and L activity measurements being obtained. The PPE treatment significantly reduced cathepsin B and L activity, but not cathepsin H. Results suggested that PPE is an alternative to PE for the inhibition of cathepsin proteases in Pacific whiting. The second study evaluated Pacific whiting fillets injected with 0.1% PPE in BB. Fillets injected with BB were utilized as the control treatment. Protein functionality was assessed through 0, 3, 6, and 12 freeze-thaw (F/T) cycles (1 cycle: 48-hour freeze at -18 °C followed by 24-hour thaw at 4 °C) designed to mimic long term storage. Tests applied included, non-cooked/cooked color and cooked fillet texture. Treatment with PPE did not have a significant effect on pH, drip loss, water holding capacity, cook loss, lipid peroxidation, protein solubility, surface hydrophobicity, or sulfhydryl groups. However, drip loss (p value < 0.05), cook loss (p value = 0.00046), lipid peroxidation (p value < 0.05), protein solubility (p value < 0.05), surface hydrophobicity (p value < 0.05), and sulfhydryl groups (p value < 0.05) did vary significantly due to F/T cycle treatment. Some variables did not behave as expected when assessing treatment within F/T groups, including water holding capacity, protein solubility, surface hydrophobicity, and sulfhydryl groups. The stabilization of water holding capacity and lack of change in protein solubility as F/T cycles increased could indicate some cryogenic protection added from phosphate addition in both brine treatments. Sudden decreases in surface hydrophobicity in early F/T cycles could indicate early formation of hydrophobic bonds. Low initial sulfhydryl content in F/T 0 shows evidence of disulfide bond formation masking free sulfhydryl group content. Color change was not visibly different in raw or cooked products between treatments or F/T cycles, but colorimeter measurement found that in cooked products, generally PPE treated fillets had significantly lower L* (p value < 0.05), hue (p value = 0.048), and chroma (p value = 0.026) meaning PPE treated fillets were darker overall. Texture profile analysis found the only variable impacted by brine treatment was hardness (p value = 0.038). The PPE treated fillets showed significantly firmer texture in F/T cycle 0. However, BB treated fillets showed similar firmness to PPE by F/T group 3 likely due to an increase in drip loss. Addition of PPE also resulted in more consistent readings (as indicated by lower standard deviations) for all texture variables throughout F/T cycles. Based on results from tests assessing protein functionality (cook loss, drip loss, WHC, protein solubility, surface hydrophobicity, TBARS, and sulfhydryl groups), there was no evidence to suggest that PPE improved these measures of protein functionality at the 0.1 % level in BB. However, PPE is a good inhibitor of cathepsin L and B at low concentrations and results in more consistent texture measures, minimal color change, and firmer initial texture. Moving forward, it would be interesting to determine whether PPE could work synergistically with ingredients that enhance protein-protein interactions and cooked protein gel formation

Modeling with a Conceptual representation: is it necessary? does it Work?

In response to recent educational imperatives in the United States, modeling and systems thinking have been identified as being critical for science learning. In this paper, we investigate models in the classroom from two important perspectives: (1) from the teacher perspective to understand how teachers perceive models and use models in the classroom and (2) from the students perspective to understand how student use model-based reasoning to represent their understanding in a classroom setting. Qualitative data collected from 19 teachers who attended a professional development workshop in the northeastern United States indicate that while teachers see the value in teaching to think with models (i.e., during inquiry practices), they tend to use models mostly as communication tools in the classroom. Quantitative data collected about the modeling practices of 42 middle school students who worked collaboratively in small groups (4–5 students) using a computer modeling program indicated that students tended to engage in more mechanistic and function-related thinking with time as they reasoned about a complex system. Furthermore, students had a typified trajectory of first adding and then next paring down ideas in their models. Implications for science education are discussed

Modeling with a Conceptual representation: is it necessary? does it Work?

In response to recent educational imperatives in the United States, modeling and systems thinking have been identified as being critical for science learning. In this paper, we investigate models in the classroom from two important perspectives: (1) from the teacher perspective to understand how teachers perceive models and use models in the classroom and (2) from the students perspective to understand how student use model-based reasoning to represent their understanding in a classroom setting. Qualitative data collected from 19 teachers who attended a professional development workshop in the northeastern United States indicate that while teachers see the value in teaching to think with models (i.e., during inquiry practices), they tend to use models mostly as communication tools in the classroom. Quantitative data collected about the modeling practices of 42 middle school students who worked collaboratively in small groups (4–5 students) using a computer modeling program indicated that students tended to engage in more mechanistic and function-related thinking with time as they reasoned about a complex system. Furthermore, students had a typified trajectory of first adding and then next paring down ideas in their models. Implications for science education are discussed

South China Sea internal tide/internal waves-impact on the temporal variability of horizontal array gain at 276 Hz

Author Posting. © IEEE, 2004. This article is posted here by permission of IEEE for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 29 (2004): 1292-1307, doi:10.1109/JOE.2004.836794.The temporal variability of the spatial coherence of an acoustic signal received on a bottomed horizontal array has been calculated for 276-Hz narrow-band signals. A conventional plane wave beamformer was applied to the received signals. The temporal variability of the array's omnipower, beam power, and array gain are related to variability in the sound-speed field. The spectral characteristics of array omnipower are nonstationary and changed as the spectral characteristics of the temperature field varied. The array omnipower and beam-power variability tracked each other in time and varied by as much as 15 dB over time intervals as short as 7 min. Array gain varied up to 5 dB and usually tracked the omnipower variability. A contiguous 24-h section of data is discussed in detail. This data section is from a time period during which the high-frequency fluid dynamic perturbation of the sound-speed field was of smaller amplitude than other sections of the 16-d data set. Consequently, this section of data sets an upper bound for the realizable array gain. The temporal variability of array gain and spatial coherence at times appears to be correlated with environmental perturbation of the sound-speed field, but are also correlated with changes in the signal-to-noise ratio. The data was acquired during the Office of Naval Research's South China Sea Asian Seas International Acoustics Experiment. The 465-m 32-channel horizontal array was placed on the bottom in 120 m of water at the South China Sea shelf break. The acoustic source was moored in 114 m of water /spl sim/19 km from the receiving array.This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research

An Analysis of Public Attitudes Toward the Insanity Defense

Results from a public opinion survey of knowledge, attitudes, and support for the insanity defense indicate that people dislike the insanity defense for both retributive and utilitarian reasons: they want insane law-breakers punished, and they believe that insanity defense procedures fail to protect the public. However, people vastly overestimate the use and success of the insanity plea. Several attitudinal and demographic variables that other researchers have found to be associated with people\u27s support for the death penalty and perceptions of criminal sentencing are also related to support for the insanity defense. Implications for public policy are discussed