Does intellectual capital and corporate governance have an impact on annual report readability? Evidence from an emerging market

Purpose: This study examines the impact of intellectual capital efficiency and corporate governance mechanisms on the annual report readability of Oman's financial sector companies. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a sample of 150 firm-year observations of listed financial sector companies in the Muscat Securities Market, Oman, from 2014 to 2018. Flesch Reading ease and Flesch Kinkaid Index are used as proxies for annual report readability. As part of sensitivity analysis, the study also uses the natural logarithm of annual report pages as alternative readability measures. The investigation is conducted using random effects regression analysis and supported with system GMM estimation for robustness. Findings: The findings of this study demonstrate a decrease in intellectual capital efficiency associated with better readability of annual reports for the financial sector firms. Alternatively, banks report a positive association of intellectual capital efficiency with the Flesch Reading ease score of the annual report. The structural capital and capital employed efficiency are also found to be negatively associated with annual report readability. Corporate governance mechanisms such as dispersed ownership and audit committee size also result in easy-to-read annual reports that support agency theory. Research limitations/implications: The research was conducted for financial firms of Oman, and thereby the findings can be generalized to the financial sector of countries with similar settings, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Practical implications: The policy implications arising from this study suggest a strengthening of the intellectual capital efficiency and corporate governance mechanisms to improve the readability of the firms and thereby increase investor confidence. Originality/value: This paper's uniqueness is in the model used to investigate the impact of intellectual capital efficiency and corporate governance mechanisms on the annual report readability of an emerging market

THE CHANGING TREND OF MORTALITY CAUSED BY GASTROINTESTINAL CANCERS IN IRAN DURING THE YEARS 2006-2010

BACKGROUND: Cancers are one of the most important causes of death in the world. According to their high incidence and mortality, gastrointestinal cancers have particular importance among other cancers. OBJECTIVE: Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the mortality change trends of gastrointestinal cancers in Iran. METHODS: This study was performed by analyzing the reported mortality data in 29 provinces of Iran in 2006-2010. Mortality trend of gastrointestinal cancers was drawn for both sexes in the study years and disaggregated by age groups and their frequency distribution. The WinPepi software was used for analysis. RESULTS: In the years 2006-2010, the mortality rate of, gastric, colorectal, liver and pancreatic cancers, has significantly increased. Totally, gastrointestinal mortality is higher in men than women. Also, the results showed that by increasing age, death from these cancers also increased. CONCLUSION: The most important causes of death from gastrointestinal cancers were gastric, liver and colorectal cancers in Iran and because of their increasing trend in the country, performing preventive interventions for the cancers' risk factors is necessary

Palmitate-Induced β-Cell Dysfunction Is Associated with Excessive NO Production and Is Reversed by Thiazolidinedione-Mediated Inhibition of GPR40 Transduction Mechanisms

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes often displays hyperlipidemia. We examined palmitate effects on pancreatic islet function in relation to FFA receptor GPR40, NO generation, insulin release, and the PPARgamma agonistic thiazolidinedione, rosiglitazone. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Rosiglitazone suppressed acute palmitate-stimulated GPR40-transduced PI hydrolysis in HEK293 cells and insulin release from MIN6c cells and mouse islets. Culturing islets 24 h with palmitate at 5 mmol/l glucose induced beta-cell iNOS expression as revealed by confocal microscopy and increased the activities of ncNOS and iNOS associated with suppression of glucose-stimulated insulin response. Rosiglitazone reversed these effects. The expression of iNOS after high-glucose culturing was unaffected by rosiglitazone. Downregulation of GPR40 by antisense treatment abrogated GPR40 expression and suppressed palmitate-induced iNOS activity and insulin release. CONCLUSION: We conclude that, in addition to mediating acute FFA-stimulated insulin release, GPR40 is an important regulator of iNOS expression and dysfunctional insulin release during long-term exposure to FFA. The adverse effects of palmitate were counteracted by rosiglitazone at GPR40, suggesting that thiazolidinediones are beneficial for beta-cell function in hyperlipidemic type 2 diabetes

A systematic literature review of intellectual capital and sustainable development of health care

The healthcare sector is one of the major sectors affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The pandemic brought enormous pressure on the health care sector thus shifting focus on valuing its intellectual capital (IC) and ensuring sustainable development. IC is critical for not only achieving a competitive advantage but also influencing sustainable development. The existing literature remains fragmented and underexposed with relation to IC and sustainable development in the health care sector. To address this issue, this study undertakes a systematic literature review of the IC and sustainable literature specific to the healthcare sector (n = 39). After analysing research articles indexed in Scopus, the findings highlight that publications in this area have been the highest over the last four years and around 50 per cent in the field of business, management, environmental sciences and social science combined. The extant literature has predominantly explored areas falling under three major themes, strategic approach, systems, and performance enhancement. The implications are for the academicians and practitioners to undertake future research agenda emphasizing IC contribution in the sustainable development of the health care sector

Excessive Islet NO Generation in Type 2 Diabetic GK Rats Coincides with Abnormal Hormone Secretion and Is Counteracted by GLP-1

BACKGROUND: A distinctive feature of type 2 diabetes is inability of insulin-secreting beta-cells to properly respond to elevated glucose eventually leading to beta-cell failure. We have hypothesized that an abnormally increased NO production in the pancreatic islets might be an important factor in the pathogenesis of beta-cell dysfunction. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show now that islets of type 2 spontaneous diabetes in GK rats display excessive NO generation associated with abnormal iNOS expression in insulin and glucagon cells, increased ncNOS activity, impaired glucose-stimulated insulin release, glucagon hypersecretion, and impaired glucose-induced glucagon suppression. Pharmacological blockade of islet NO production by the NOS inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) greatly improved hormone secretion from GK islets suggesting islet NOS activity being an important target to inactivate for amelioration of islet cell function. The incretin hormone GLP-1, which is used in clinical practice suppressed iNOS and ncNOS expression and activity with almost full restoration of insulin release and partial restoration of glucagon release. GLP-1 suppression of iNOS expression was reversed by PKA inhibition but unaffected by the proteasome inhibitor MG132. Injection of glucose plus GLP-1 in the diabetic rats showed that GLP-1 amplified the insulin response but induced a transient increase and then a poor depression of glucagon. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that abnormally increased NO production within islet cells is a significant player in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes being counteracted by GLP-1 through PKA-dependent, nonproteasomal mechanisms

Advances in understanding and treating ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurocognitive behavioral developmental disorder most commonly seen in childhood and adolescence, which often extends to the adult years. Relative to a decade ago, there has been extensive research into understanding the factors underlying ADHD, leading to far more treatment options available for both adolescents and adults with this disorder. Novel stimulant formulations have made it possible to tailor treatment to the duration of efficacy required by patients, and to help mitigate the potential for abuse, misuse and diversion. Several new non-stimulant options have also emerged in the past few years. Among these, cognitive behavioral interventions have proven popular in the treatment of adult ADHD, especially within the adult population who cannot or will not use medications, along with the many medication-treated patients who continue to show residual disability