Corporate performance under corporate governance in the GCC countries / Wael E. AL-Rashed

This study is an attempt to explore the relation between the new corporate governance enforcement in the Gulf -GCC- countries and management performance at large. Independent variables within corporate governance cluster have been identified to determine their possible effect on other dependent variables within the cluster of management performance. The study provides empirical support of the added value of corporate governance at both the national as well as the regional level. A deductive research method is adopted to better identify the problem and reach some conclusions. It includes a recognized statistical testing as well as a basic arithmetic model to build up some relationships which may lead to some sort of correlations that assist in interpreting and determining perceptions toward the issue. Results have shown noticeable impact of the same across the tested data and calls for more rigid enforcement of legislative governance among GCC firms

Kuwait's tax reformation, its alternatives and impact on a developing accounting profession

Since the discovery of oil, Kuwait has witnessed a vast economic transition which has boosted a significant welfare state. However, in recent years the situation has changed, influencing the state budget and financial resources. The search for sources of income other than oil gave rise to the possibility of imposing taxes in a hitherto tax-free country. The 1955 tax law was applied only to foreign enterprises operating in Kuwait, and since then few attempts have been undertaken to reform it. The purpose of this study is to examine the tax alternatives available to Kuwait, which could increase state revenues, and reduce the level of inequality among the population resulting from the government land purchasing programme adopted in the early sixties. It also aims, through an empirical investigation, to reveal the potential impact of tax reformation on the development of the emerging accounting profession in Kuwait.The determination of the most appropriate tax policy for Kuwait necessitates the examination of the views of those parties most concerned, who are defined in this study as the public, foreign investors, and accounting practitioners. Accordingly, questionnaires were designed, tested, distributed and analysed to reveal attitudes towards tax reformation. In addition, interviews with concerned persons in the country, including tax legislators, officials, and authors, were conducted, so as to further examine these attitudes and other aspects of tax introduction. Based on the findings of this investigation as well as the traditional literature survey, appropriate reforms are suggested, including reformation in the legislative, administrative, and technical considerations of the tax introduction.Moreover, recommendations concerning the development of the accounting profession to accommodate the new tax era are also made, including better organisation of the profession, and its contribution to taxation in Kuwait

Kuwait's tax reformation, its alternatives and impact on a developing accounting profession

Since the discovery of oil, Kuwait has witnessed a vast economic transition which has boosted a significant welfare state. However, in recent years the situation has changed, influencing the state budget and financial resources. The search for sources of income other than oil gave rise to the possibility of imposing taxes in a hitherto tax-free country. The 1955 tax law was applied only to foreign enterprises operating in Kuwait, and since then few attempts have been undertaken to reform it. The purpose of this study is to examine the tax alternatives available to Kuwait, which could increase state revenues, and reduce the level of inequality among the population resulting from the government land purchasing programme adopted in the early sixties. It also aims, through an empirical investigation, to reveal the potential impact of tax reformation on the development of the emerging accounting profession in Kuwait. The determination of the most appropriate tax policy for Kuwait necessitates the examination of the views of those parties most concerned, who are defined in this study as the public, foreign investors, and accounting practitioners. Accordingly, questionnaires were designed, tested, distributed and analysed to reveal attitudes towards tax reformation. In addition, interviews with concerned persons in the country, including tax legislators, officials, and authors, were conducted, so as to further examine these attitudes and other aspects of tax introduction. Based on the findings of this investigation as well as the traditional literature survey, appropriate reforms are suggested, including reformation in the legislative, administrative, and technical considerations of the tax introduction. Moreover, recommendations concerning the development of the accounting profession to accommodate the new tax era are also made, including better organisation of the profession, and its contribution to taxation in Kuwait

Line and Continuum Variability in Active Galaxies

We compared optical spectroscopic and photometric data for 18 AGN galaxies over 2 to 3 epochs, with time intervals of typically 5 to 10 years. We used the Multi-Object Double Spectrograph (MODS) at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) and compared the spectra to data taken from the SDSS database and the literature. We find variations in the forbidden oxygen lines as well as in the hydrogen recombination lines of these sources. For 4 of the sources we find that, within the calibration uncertainties, the variations in continuum and line spectra of the sources are very small. We argue that it is mainly the difference in black hole mass between the samples that is responsible for the different degree of continuum variability. In addition we find that for an otherwise constant accretion rate the total line variability (dominated by the narrow line contributions) reverberates the continuum variability with a dependency $\Delta L_{line} \propto (\Delta L_{cont.})^{\frac{3}{2}}$. Since this dependency is prominently expressed in the narrow line emission it implies that the luminosity dominating part of the narrow line region must be very compact with a size of the order of at least 10 light years. A comparison to literature data shows that these findings describe the variability characteristics of a total of 61 broad and narrow line sources.Comment: 30 pages including the appendix, 18 figures including the appendix. Accepted 2015 September 3. Received 2015 August 24; in original form 2015 July 3 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Vitamin D Status of Infants in Northeastern Rural Bangladesh: Preliminary Observations and a Review of Potential Determinants

Vitamin D deficiency is a global public-health concern, even in tropical regions where the risk of deficiency was previously assumed to be low due to cutaneous vitamin D synthesis stimulated by exposure to sun. Poor vitamin D status, indicated by low serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], has been observed in South Asian populations. However, limited information is available on the vitamin D status of young infants in this region. Therefore, to gain preliminary insights into the vitamin D status of infants in rural Bangladesh, 25(OH)D was assessed in a group of community-sampled control participants in a pneumonia case-control study in rural Sylhet, Bangladesh (25°N) during the winter dry season (January-February). Among 29 infants aged 1-6 months, the mean 25(OH)D was 36.7 nmol/L [95% confidence interval (CI) 30.2-43.2]. The proportion of infants with vitamin D deficiency defined by 25(OH)D <25 nmol/L was 28% (95% CI 10-45), 59% (95% CI 40-78) had 25(OH)D<40 nmol/L, and all were below 80 nmol/L. From one to six months, there was a positive correlation between age and 25(OH)D (Spearman=0.65; p=0.0001). Within a larger group of 74 infants and toddlers aged 1-17 months (cases and controls recruited for the pneumonia study), young age was the only significant risk factor for vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D <25 nmol/L]. Since conservative maternal clothing practices (i.e. veiling) and low frequency of intake of foods from animal source (other than fish) were common among the mothers of the participants, determinants of low maternal-infant 25(OH)D in Bangladesh deserve more detailed consideration in future studies. In conclusion, the vitamin D status in young infants in rural Sylhet, Bangladesh, was poorer than might be expected based on geographic considerations. The causes and consequences of low 25(OH)D in infancy and early childhood in this setting remain to be established

Partially Demineralized Macroporous (PDM) Allografts for Cranial Tissue Engineering

poster abstractDecompressive Craniectomy is a cranial surgery where a large part of the cranial bone is removed in order to mitigate swelling in the brain tissue. Consequently, a scaffold biomaterial is required to substitute the lost bone. Ideal cranioplasty biomaterials should have the following features: fit the cranial defect and achieve complete closure, radiolucency, resistance to infections, no dilation with heat, resistance to biomechanical wear, pliability, and inexpensive. Partially Demineralized Macroporous (PDM) allografts exhibit such properties to correct these cranial defects. The main objectives of this study include: (1) examining the effects of demineralization and macroporosity formations on the mechanical and biological properties of allograft bone disks; (2) conducting finite element analysis (FEA) to stimulate the mechanical properties of the PDM allografts; and (3) evaluating the in vitro response of the PDM allografts utilizing pre-osteoblast cell lines. Tibias were harvested from Ossabaw mini-pigs and cylindrical cortical bone sections of 2 mm in thickness and 8 mm in diameter were obtained. Macropores of 600 micrometers in diameter were created to generate porosity levels of 0-40% in the bone disks. The bone disks were then demineralized in 14-wt% EDTA for 6 to 48 hours at 37℃. The relative stiffness was determined for each class using a material testing machine with a loading rate of 1 mm/min using a piston-on-ring set up. To analyze the deformation characteristics, FEA software LS-DYNA was employed. In order to understand the in vitro response, biocompatibility of PDM scaffolds were evaluated by culturing MC3T3-E1 cell lines where XTT and ALP assays were conducted. PDM allografts display the suitable stiffness required for cranial defects. The PDM allograft scaffolds aid in osteogenic proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cell lines in vitro. However, there will be further in vivo testing regarding the validity of PDM allografts in rat cranial defects. Mentor: Tien-Min Gabriel Chu, Department of Restorative DentistryDecompressive Craniectomy is a cranial surgery where a large part of the cranial bone is removed in order to mitigate swelling in the brain tissue. Consequently, a scaffold biomaterial is required to substitute the lost bone. Ideal cranioplasty biomaterials should have the following features: fit the cranial defect and achieve complete closure, radiolucency, resistance to infections, no dilation with heat, resistance to biomechanical wear, pliability, and inexpensive. Partially Demineralized Macroporous (PDM) allografts exhibit such properties to correct these cranial defects. The main objectives of this study include: (1) examining the effects of demineralization and macroporosity formations on the mechanical and biological properties of allograft bone disks; (2) conducting finite element analysis (FEA) to stimulate the mechanical properties of the PDM allografts; and (3) evaluating the in vitro response of the PDM allografts utilizing pre-osteoblast cell lines. Tibias were harvested from Ossabaw mini-pigs and cylindrical cortical bone sections of 2 mm in thickness and 8 mm in diameter were obtained. Macropores of 600 micrometers in diameter were created to generate porosity levels of 0-40% in the bone disks. The bone disks were then demineralized in 14-wt% EDTA for 6 to 48 hours at 37℃. The relative stiffness was determined for each class using a material testing machine with a loading rate of 1 mm/min using a piston-on-ring set up. To analyze the deformation characteristics, FEA software LS-DYNA was employed. In order to understand the in vitro response, biocompatibility of PDM scaffolds were evaluated by culturing MC3T3-E1 cell lines where XTT and ALP assays were conducted. PDM allografts display the suitable stiffness required for cranial defects. The PDM allograft scaffolds aid in osteogenic proliferation and differentiation of pre-osteoblast cell lines in vitro. However, there will be further in vivo testing regarding the validity of PDM allografts in rat cranial defects

Analysis of ischaemic crisis using the informational causal entropy-complexity plane

In the present work, an ischaemic process, mainly focused on the reperfusion stage, is studied using the informational causal entropy-complexity plane. Ischaemic wall behavior under this condition was analyzed through wall thickness and ventricular pressure variations, acquired during an obstructive flow maneuver performed on left coronary arteries of surgically instrumented animals. Basically, the induction of ischaemia depends on the temporary occlusion of left circumflex coronary artery (which supplies blood to the posterior left ventricular wall) that lasts for a few seconds. Normal perfusion of the wall was then reestablished while the anterior ventricular wall remained adequately perfused during the entire maneuver. The obtained results showed that system dynamics could be effectively described by entropy-complexity loops, in both abnormally and well perfused walls. These results could contribute to making an objective indicator of the recovery heart tissues after an ischaemic process, in a way to quantify the restoration of myocardial behavior after the supply of oxygen to the ventricular wall was suppressed for a brief period.Fil: Legnani, Walter. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Lanús; ArgentinaFil: Traversaro Varela, Francisco. Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Redelico, Francisco Oscar. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Cymberknop, Leandro Javier. Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Bioingenieria; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Armentano, Ricardo Luis. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina. Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires. Departamento de Bioingenieria; ArgentinaFil: Rosso, Osvaldo Aníbal. Universidad de los Andes; Chile. Universidade Federal de Alagoas; Brasil. Hospital Italiano; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin