Virtual Auditing Agents: The EDGAR Agent Challenge

Intelligent agents can be used as agents of organizational change. This potential exists in the domain of accounting audit, where much of what is currently done manually in batch mode could be done continuously and on-line. We discuss the use of intelligent Internet agents as a way of changing and expanding audit practices in the virtual world. A quality/service framework is presented that suggests ways that accounting firms can evolve in this era of on-line opportunities. The EDGAR Agent is presented as an example of an intelligent Internet agent that gathers financial information. The challenges involved in the development of the EDGAR agent are analyzed, providing insight into the practical aspects of agent technology designed for a specific business domain. A test of the agent is presented, with comments and suggestions from financial practitioners that will be integrated into the research stream

An easy synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles from carboxylic acids and arylamidoximes mediated by ethyl chloroformate

An efficient, clean and easy high-yielding synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles starting from mixed anhydrides (generated from carboxylic acids and ethyl chloroformate) and arylamidoximes is described

Marketing Strategy and Wall Street: Nailing Down Marketing's Impact

marketing¿finance interface, firm financial value, brand value, efficient markets, brand equit

3-[3-(3-Fluoro­phen­yl)-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl]propionic acid

In the title compound, C11H9FN2O3, the benzene ring is almost coplanar with the heterocyclic ring, making a dihedral angle of 14.0 (1)°. The plane of the carboxyl group is rotated by 14.7 (3)° with respect to the 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring plane. The aliphatic chain exhibits a standard zigzag arrangement. Two inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between the carboxyl groups related by an inversion centre promote a dimeric structure formation. The dimers are stacked along the crystallographic a axis

Phase transfer of platinum nanoparticles from aqueous to organic solutions using fatty amine molecules

In this report we demonstrate a simple process based on amine chemistry for the phase transfer of platinum nanoparticles from an aqueous to an organic solution. The phase transfer was accomplished by vigorous shaking of a biphasic mixture of platinum nanoparticles synthesised in an aqueous medium and octadecylamine (ODA) in hexane. During shaking of the biphasic mixture, the aqueous platinum nanoparticles complex via either coordination bond formation or weak covalent interaction with the ODA molecules present in the organic phase. This process renders the nanoparticles sufficiently hydrophobic and dispersible in the organic phase. The ODA-stabilised platinum nanoparticles could be separated out from hexane in the form of a powder that is readily redispersible in weakly polar and non-polar organic solvents. The ODA-capped platinum nanoparticles show high catalytic activity in hydrogenation reactions and this is demonstrated in the efficient conversion of styrene to ethyl benzene. The nature of binding of the ODA molecules to the platinum nanoparticles surface was characterised by thermogravimetry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR)

Virtual auditing agents: The edgar agent challenge

Intelligent agents can be used as agents of organizational change. This potential exists in the domain of accounting audit, where much of what is currently done manually in batch mode could be done continuously and on-line. We discuss the use of intelligent Internet agents as a way of changing and expanding audit practices in the virtual world. A quality/service framework is presented that suggests ways that accounting firms can evolve in this era of on-line opportunities. The EDGAR Agent is presented as an example of an intelligent Internet agent that gathers financial information. The challenges involved in the development of the EDGAR agent are analyzed, providing insight into the practical aspects of agent technology designed for a specific business domain. A test of the agent is presented, with comments and suggestions from financial practitioners that will be integrated into the research stream

Design and Applications of an Intelligent Financial Reporting and Auditing Agent with Net Knowledge (FRAANK)

This paper discusses the use of intelligent Internet agents as essential tools for automating financial analysis functions in the virtual world. Several important characteristic features of intelligent agents are discussed, including autonomy, communication ability, collaboration, and mobility. This paper focuses on developing a new intelligent agent called FRAANK – Financial Reporting and Auditing Agent with Net Knowledge. The prototype of FRAANK described in this paper provides intelligent access to, and processing and integration of rapidly changing financial information available from various sources on the Internet. FRAANK is an example of an agent that provides a value-added service that can be used for extracting data from natural text financial statements and converting them into XBRL-tagged statements, can potentially be utilized in an auditing practice, or used by investors and creditors in making their decisions

Nanotechnology Synergised Immunoengineering for Cancer

Novel strategies modulating the immune system yielded enhanced anticancer responses and improved cancer survival. Nevertheless, the success rate of immunotherapy in cancer treatment has been below expectation(s) due to unpredictable efficacy and off-target effects from systemic dosing of immunotherapeutic. As a result, there is an unmet clinical need for improving conventional immunotherapy. Nanotechnology offers several new strategies, multimodality, and multiplex biological targeting advantage to overcome many of these challenges. These efforts enable programming the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, delivery of immunomodulatory agents/co-delivery of compounds to prime at the tumor sites for improved therapeutic benefits. This review provides an overview of the design and clinical principles of biomaterials driven nanotechnology and their potential use in personalized nanomedicines, vaccines, localized tumor modulation, and delivery strategies for cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we also summarize the latest highlights and recent advances in combinatorial therapies avail in the treatment of cold and complicated tumors. It also presents key steps and parameters implemented for clinical success. Finally, we analyse, discuss, and provide clinical perspectives on the integrated opportunities of nanotechnology and immunology to achieve synergistic and durable responses in cancer treatment