SOIL EROSION EVALUATION IN THE RASTOCKI POTOK WATERSHED OF MONTENEGRO USING THE EROSION POTENTIAL METHOD

Soil erosion is the most important factor of land degradation worldwide, causing significant environmental problems in the region of South East Europe also. We studied soil erosion processes in the RastockiPotok Watershed of Montenegro using the Erosion Potential Method (EPM) of Gavrilovic, which is created in Yugoslavia and is the most suitable on catchment level for the watershed management needs in this Region. The peak discharge (Qmax) is calculated on 150 m3s-1 and there is a possibility for large flood waves to appear in the studied basin. According to our analysis, the coefficient fs, (portion under forest) is 0.45; ft (grass) is 0.41 and fg (bare land) is 0.14 and the coefficient of the river basin planning, Xa, is 0.52. Real soil losses, Gyr, were calculated on 1472m3yr-1, specific 250m3km-2yr-1. The value of the Z coefficient of 0.488 indicates that the studied watershed belongs in the Destruction Category III: the erosion process is medium. This study confirmed the findings of the other Balkan researchers that the EPM method of Professor Gavrilovic is a useful tool for calculating sediment yield in the South East Europe

Sarcopenia parameters in active older adults - an eight-year longitudinal study

BACKGROUD: Sarcopenia is a common skeletal muscle syndrome that is common in older adults but can be mitigated by adequate and regular physical activity. The development and severity of sarcopenia is favored by several factors, the most influential of which are a sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity. The aim of this observational longitudinal cohort study was to evaluate changes in sarcopenia parameters, based on the EWGSOP2 definition in a population of active older adults after eight years. It was hypothesized that selected active older adults would perform better on sarcopenia tests than the average population. METHODS: The 52 active older adults (22 men and 30 women, mean age: 68.4 ± 5.6 years at the time of their first evaluation) participated in the study at two time points eight-years apart. Three sarcopenia parameters were assessed at both time points: Muscle strength (handgrip test), skeletal muscle mass index, and physical performance (gait speed), these parameters were used to diagnose sarcop0enia according to the EWGSOP2 definition. Additional motor tests were also performed at follow-up measurements to assess participants' overall fitness. Participants self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior using General Physical Activity Questionnaire at baseline and at follow-up measurements. RESULTS: In the first measurements we did not detect signs of sarcopenia in any individual, but after 8 years, we detected signs of sarcopenia in 7 participants. After eight years, we detected decline in ; muscle strength (-10.2%; p < .001), muscle mass index (-5.4%; p < .001), and physical performance measured with gait speed (-28.6%; p < .001). Similarly, self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior declined, too (-25.0%; p = .030 and - 48.5%; p < .001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Despite expected lower scores on tests of sarcopenia parameters due to age-related decline, participants performed better on motor tests than reported in similar studies. Nevertheless, the prevalence of sarcopenia was consistent with most of the published literature. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The clinical trial protocol was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT04899531

Impact of Excess Auditor Remuneration on the Cost of Equity Capital around the World

This study examines the relation between excess auditor remuneration and the implied required rate of return (IRR hereafter) on equity capital in global markets. We conjecture that when auditor remuneration is excessively large, investors may perceive the auditor to be economically bonded to the client, leading to a lack of independence. This perceived lack of independence increases the information risk associated with the credibility of financial statements, thereby increasing IRR. Consistent with this notion, we find that IRR is increasing in excess auditor remuneration, but only in countries with stronger investor protection. Finding evidence of a relation only in stronger investor protection countries is consistent with the more prominent role of audited financial statements for investors' decisions in these countries. In settings in which investors are less likely to rely on audited financial statements and instead rely on alternative sources of information (i.e., in countries with weaker investor protection), the impact of client-auditor bonding should have less of an effect on investors' decisions.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

Audit fees and book-tax differences

We investigate whether book-tax differences are associated with higher audit fees, a proxy for auditor risk assessments and auditor effort. Our evidence suggests that there is a significantly positive relation. Further, this association is larger for firms that appear to have managed earnings (i.e., have high accruals) relative to those that are tax avoiders (i.e., have low cash effective tax rates). Our evidence is consistent with large book-tax differences representing an observable proxy for earnings management that is associated with auditor decisions. Our study contributes to capital market research that examines audit fees, as well as other research that examines the usefulness of book-tax differences for market participants.Ernst & Young (Faculty Fellowship in Accounting

Amelioration of sexual adverse effects in the early breast cancer patient

As the number of breast cancer survivors increases, the long term consequences of breast cancer treatment are gaining attention. Sexual dysfunction is a common complaint amongst breast cancer survivors, and there are few evidence based recommendations and even fewer well designed clinical trials to establish what treatments are safe or effective in this patient population. We conducted a PubMed search for articles published between 1995–2009 containing the terms breast cancer, sexual dysfunction, libido, vaginal dryness, testosterone, and vaginal estrogen. We initially reviewed articles focusing exclusively on sexual issues in breast cancer patients. Given the paucity of clinical trials addressing sexual issues in breast cancer patients, we also included studies evaluating both hormone and non-hormone based interventions for sexual dysfunction in post-menopausal women in general. Among breast cancer survivors, vaginal dryness and loss of libido represent some of the most challenging long term side effects of breast cancer treatment. In the general post-menopausal population, topical preparations of estrogens and testosterone both appear to improve sexual function; however there are conflicting reports about the efficacy and safety of these interventions in women with a history of breast cancer, and further research is warranted

Remote Power Control of Wireless Network Interfaces

JOURNAL OF EMBEDDED COMPUTIN

Remote Power Control of Wireless Network Interfaces

Abstract. This paper presents a new power management technique aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of client-server multimedia applications running on wireless portable devices. We focus on reducing the energy consumption of the wireless network interface of the client by allowing the remote server to control the power configuration of the network card depending on the workload. In particular, we exploit server knowledge of the workload to perform an energy-efficient traffic reshaping, without compromising on the quality of service. We tested our methodology on the SmartBadge IV wearable device running an MPEG4 streaming video application. Using our technique we measured energy savings of more than 67 % compared to no power management being used on the WLAN interface. In addition, we save as much as 50% of energy with respect to the standard 802.11b power management. All of the energy savings are obtained with no performance loss on the video playback.