The relevance of Critical Accounting Theory (CAT) to effectiveness of public financial accountability in emerging economies

In the past, researchers of financial accountability have relied on Agency and Stewardship theories to explain the phenomena that may hinder the exchange of financial information in the accountability process. This article examines the relevance of CAT to effective public financial accountability.Public sector in developing countries has accountability mechanism that is based onagency model. Accountability mechanism following the assumptions of principal-agent theory will most likely focus on monitoring procedures in order to reduce information asymmetry. This can enhance the disclosure of information but may result in an information overload problem on the part of the accountors’ and the accountees. Extant literature asserts that the theory is not anappropriate framework for contractual services that are difficult to be measured and observed, and that the theory fail to address the issue of relevance of environment, competition, management capability, and availability or lack of strong incentives, particularly financial, for aligning an agent’s actions. As research in public financial accountability emerged, the issue of the most appropriate theoretical framework to adopt remained unanswered. Critical Accounting Theory (CAT) is gaining wider acceptability among scholars in their quest to address the problem of the conflict of goals between the principal and the agent and the difficulty or the inability of the principal to verify what the agent is doing.Extant literature established thepaucity of studies on critical accounting literature that focus on developing countries.This theoretical paper exalts CAT and its relevance to modern day developing societies

Probing the luminal microenvironment of reconstituted epithelial microtissues.

Polymeric microparticles can serve as carriers or sensors to instruct or characterize tissue biology. However, incorporating microparticles into tissues for in vitro assays remains a challenge. We exploit three-dimensional cell-patterning technologies and directed epithelial self-organization to deliver microparticles to the lumen of reconstituted human intestinal microtissues. We also develop a novel pH-sensitive microsensor that can measure the luminal pH of reconstituted epithelial microtissues. These studies offer a novel approach for investigating luminal microenvironments and drug-delivery across epithelial barriers

Observation of eliminative cationic polymerization within van der Waals clusters

We report the first observation of eliminative cationic polymerization within van der Waals (vdW) clusters following electron impact ionization at pressures of 10−8 Torr. The elimination reactions of C2H3Cl+ within the clusters terminate after three successive steps, each involving elimination of HCl or Cl. The results provide a mechanism for the early stages of gas phase cationic polymerization of vinyl chloride and demonstrate the feasibility of using vdW clusters as a means of studying gas phase cationic polymerization

A comparative study on the 3D printing process of semi-crystalline and amorphous polymers using simulation

Polymers have been widely used in the field of fused deposition modelling (FDM). The part integrity of the final printed part is affected by parameters such as processing conditions and the material properties of the polymer. Build-up of residual stresses are the main cause of shrinkage and warpage (i.e., part distortion) in the FDM parts. Among the thermoplastic polymers, semi-crystalline polymers are more prone to part distortion due to crystallisation. Therefore, it is important to understand and predict part distortion in FDM of polymers to achieve good quality prints with desirable mechanical properties. Several studies have investigated the resulting part distortion in FDM parts through empirical, analytical, and numerical approaches. In most cases, the simulation results are not quantitatively validated, mainly because the temperature dependent properties of the polymers and the crystallinity of semi-crystalline polymers are often overlooked. In this study, the thermal-mechanical properties of the polymer of study such as specific heat capacity, thermal conductivity and density and the crystallisation kinetics are invoked as a function of temperature. Furthermore, an amorphous polymer was also simulated with consideration of its respective material properties. Both the semicrystalline and the amorphous polymer models were simulated under various layer thickness (0.1 and 0.5mm), in order to investigate the effect of layer thickness on the induced thermal stress and resulting warpage. Based on the simulation results, for 0.1mm layer thickness, the amorphous polymer model exhibited a warpage drop of 77%. And for 0.5mm, the warpage noted was found to decrease by 63%, on comparison with the warpage noted from semi-crystalline polymer model. These warpage values from the simulated models were then measured against the 3D scan results of the printed samples for quantitative validation. An excellent agreement was observed between the experimental and the simulated samples.</div

Targeting BAFF and APRIL in systemic lupus erythematosus and other antibody-associated diseases.

The B cell-stimulating molecules, BAFF (B cell activating factor) and APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand), are critical factors in the maintenance of the B cell pool and humoral immunity. In addition, BAFF and APRIL are involved in the pathogenesis of a number of human autoimmune diseases, with elevated levels of these cytokines detected in the sera of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), IgA nephropathy, Sjögren's syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. As such, both molecules are rational targets for new therapies in B cell-driven autoimmune diseases, and several inhibitors of BAFF or BAFF and APRIL together have been investigated in clinical trials. These include the BAFF/APRIL dual inhibitor, atacicept, and the BAFF inhibitor, belimumab, which is approved as an add-on therapy for patients with active SLE. Post hoc analyses of these trials indicate that baseline serum levels of BAFF and BAFF/APRIL correlate with treatment response to belimumab and atacicept, respectively, suggesting a role for the two molecules as predictive biomarkers. It will, however, be important to refine future testing to identify active forms of BAFF and APRIL in the circulation, as well as to distinguish between homotrimer and heteromer configurations. In this review, we discuss the rationale for dual BAFF/APRIL inhibition versus single BAFF inhibition in autoimmune disease, by focusing on the similarities and differences between the physiological and pathogenic roles of the two molecules. A summary of the preclinical and clinical data currently available is also presented

Ultrasonographic Diagnosis and Clinical Evaluation of the Foreign Body Complications in the Compound Stomach of Cattle and Buffaloes

This study was aimed to detect and record the clinical and ultrasonographic findings of the different complications resulted from the foreign bodies lodged in the compound stomach of cattle and buffaloes. A total of 105 animals (37 cattle and 68 buffaloes) were subjected to study. Based on the clinical and ultrasonographic examination, animals were classified into; acute local reticuloperitonitis (ALRP) (15 cattle and 28 buffaloes), chronic local reticuloperitonitis (CLRP) (6 cattle and 14 buffaloes), acute diffuse reticuloperitonitis (ADRP) (5 cattle and 3buffaloes), reticular abscesses (RA) (4 cattle and 7 buffaloes), traumatic pericarditis (TP) (6 cattle and16 buffaloes) and liver abscess (one cattle). Results revealed that ALRP represented the highest percentage of 40.5% in cattle and 41.2 % in buffalos between the different complications of TRP. TP represented the second complications of higher incidence (16.2% in cows and 23.5% in buffalos). Liver abscess represented the lowest percentage (2.8%) and was recorded in cows only. The pregnant animals were affected more than the non pregnant. Clinical findings represented in systemic reaction and pain tests were commonly encountered in TRP and its complications. Some of the affected animals were negatively respond to metal detector test. Results of the present study indicated that the ultrasonographic examination provide a specific echogenic pattern for the different complications of TRP. It was concluded that, clinical examination only is not efficient to give accurate diagnosis of foreign body lodged in the reticulum and rumen and their complications. Ultrasonography is a safe, non invasive diagnostic confirmatory method that could be used for early detection of such conditions

Tuberin haploinsufficiency is associated with the loss of OGG1 in rat kidney tumors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is caused by defects in one of two tumor suppressor genes, <it>TSC-1 </it>or <it>TSC-2</it>. <it>TSC-2 </it>gene encodes tuberin, a protein involved in the pathogenesis of kidney tumors. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the <it>TSC2 </it>locus has been detected in <it>TSC</it>-associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and in RCC in the Eker rat. Tuberin downregulates the DNA repair enzyme 8-oxoguanine DNA-glycosylase (OGG1) with important functional consequences, compromising the ability of cells to repair damaged DNA resulting in the accumulation of the mutagenic oxidized DNA, 8-oxo-dG. Loss of function mutations of OGG1 also occurs in human kidney clear cell carcinoma and may contribute to tumorgenesis. We investigated the distribution of protein expression and the activity of OGG1 and 8-oxo-dG and correlated it with the expression of tuberin in kidneys of wild type and Eker rats and tumor from Eker rat.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tuberin expression, OGG1 protein expression and activity were higher in kidney cortex than in medulla or papilla in both wild type and Eker rats. On the other hand, 8-oxo-dG levels were highest in the medulla, which expressed the lowest levels of OGG1. The basal levels of 8-oxo-dG were also higher in both cortex and medulla of Eker rats compared to wild type rats.</p> <p>In kidney tumors from Eker rats, the loss of the second <it>TSC2 </it>allele is associated with loss of OGG1 expression. Immunostaining of kidney tissue shows localization of tuberin and OGG1 mainly in the cortex.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results demonstrate that OGG1 localizes with tuberin preferentially in kidney cortex. Loss of tuberin is accompanied by the loss of OGG1 contributing to tumorgenesis. In addition, the predominant expression of OGG1 in the cortex and its decreased expression and activity in the Eker rat may account for the predominant cortical localization of renal cell carcinoma.</p

Digital Computer Solution to the Transit Operator Assignment Problem

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