Briefing: Auditor/company interactions in the 2007 UK regulatory environment

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Non-local dispersal

We consider a model of spatial spread that has applications in both material science and biology. The classical models are based upon partial differential equations, in particular reaction-diffusion equations. Here the dispersal term is given in terms of an integral operator and we restrict ourselves to the scalar case

A New Seismic Stratigraphy in the Indian-Atlantic Ocean Gateway Resembles Major Paleo-Oceanographic Changes of the Last 7 Ma

The exchange of water masses between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic constitutes an integral interocean link in the global thermohaline circulation. Long‐term changes in deep water flow have been studied using seismic reflection profiles but the seismic stratigraphy was poorly constrained and not resolved for the time period from the late Miocene onward. Here we present results from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1475 (Agulhas Plateau) located over a sediment drift proximal to the entrance of North Atlantic Deep Water into the Southern Ocean and South Indian Ocean. Site U1475 comprises a complete carbonate‐rich stratigraphic section of the last ~7 Ma that provides an archive of climate‐induced variations in ocean circulation. Six marker reflectors occurring in the upper 300 m of the drift are identified here for the first time. The formation of these reflectors is mainly due to density changes that are mostly caused by changes in biogenic versus terrigenous sediment deposition. Synthetic seismograms allow age assignments for the horizons based on biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy. Prominent reflectors are related to late Pleistocene glacial/interglacial variability, the middle and early Pleistocene transitions, and the onset of the northern hemisphere glaciation. A peculiar early Pliocene interval (~5.3–4.0 Ma) bounded by two reflectors is characterized by fourfold elevated sedimentation rates (>10 cm/kyr) and the occurrence of sediment waves. We argue that this enhanced sediment transport to the Agulhas Plateau was caused by a reorganization of the bottom current circulation pattern due to maximized inflow of North Atlantic Deep Water

Boundary spanning and gatekeeping roles of UK audit committees

Post-financial crisis, audit committee (AC) reforms are proposed to improve the quality of financial reporting.†† The editorial process for this paper was undertaken by Pauline Weetman, former ABR editor. This paper's empirical contribution is to investigate the extent to which ACs and audit committee chairs (ACCs) engage with chief financial officers (CFOs) and audit partners (APs) across a range of 32 financial reporting issues. It is the first large-scale survey of interactions to move beyond the micro-CFO/AP dyad and to distinguish the individual ACC from the AC group. While 37% of the 5445 reported discussions involve all three key individuals together with the full AC, 35% involve neither the AC nor the ACC and the ACC acts without the full AC in a significant minority of cases. The parties reported to be involved are similar across the three respondent groups but vary with financial reporting issue, company size and audit firm size. The paper's theoretical contribution is to interpret the evidence using the concepts of boundary spanning and gatekeeping roles. The research reveals incomplete levels of AC and ACC engagement with financial reporting issues. Findings have implications for policy-makers regarding the role, influence and effectiveness of the AC in financial reporting matters. Directions for future research are identified

A New Seismic Stratigraphy in the Indian-Atlantic Ocean Gateway Resembles Major Paleo-Oceanographic Changes of the Last 7 Ma

The exchange of water masses between the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic constitutes an integral interocean link in the global thermohaline circulation. Long‐term changes in deep water flow have been studied using seismic reflection profiles but the seismic stratigraphy was poorly constrained and not resolved for the time period from the late Miocene onward. Here we present results from International Ocean Discovery Program Site U1475 (Agulhas Plateau) located over a sediment drift proximal to the entrance of North Atlantic Deep Water into the Southern Ocean and South Indian Ocean. Site U1475 comprises a complete carbonate‐rich stratigraphic section of the last ~7 Ma that provides an archive of climate‐induced variations in ocean circulation. Six marker reflectors occurring in the upper 300 m of the drift are identified here for the first time. The formation of these reflectors is mainly due to density changes that are mostly caused by changes in biogenic versus terrigenous sediment deposition. Synthetic seismograms allow age assignments for the horizons based on biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy. Prominent reflectors are related to late Pleistocene glacial/interglacial variability, the middle and early Pleistocene transitions, and the onset of the northern hemisphere glaciation. A peculiar early Pliocene interval (~5.3–4.0 Ma) bounded by two reflectors is characterized by fourfold elevated sedimentation rates (>10 cm/kyr) and the occurrence of sediment waves. We argue that this enhanced sediment transport to the Agulhas Plateau was caused by a reorganization of the bottom current circulation pattern due to maximized inflow of North Atlantic Deep Water

Neuron splitting in compute-bound parallel network simulations enables runtime scaling with twice as many processors

Neuron tree topology equations can be split into two subtrees and solved on different processors with no change in accuracy, stability, or computational effort; communication costs involve only sending and receiving two double precision values by each subtree at each time step. Splitting cells is useful in attaining load balance in neural network simulations, especially when there is a wide range of cell sizes and the number of cells is about the same as the number of processors. For compute-bound simulations load balance results in almost ideal runtime scaling. Application of the cell splitting method to two published network models exhibits good runtime scaling on twice as many processors as could be effectively used with whole-cell balancing

In vitro selection to identify determinants in tRNA for Bacillus subtilis tyrS T box antiterminator mRNA binding

The T box transcription antitermination regulatory system, found in Gram-positive bacteria, is dependent on a complex set of interactions between uncharged tRNA and the 5′-untranslated mRNA leader region of the regulated gene. One of these interactions involves the base pairing of the acceptor end of cognate tRNA with four bases in a 7 nt bulge of the antiterminator RNA. In vitro selection of randomized tRNA binding to Bacillus subtilis tyrS antiterminator model RNAs was used to determine what, if any, sequence trends there are for binding beyond the known base pair complementarity. The model antiterminator RNAs were selected for the wild-type tertiary fold of tRNA. While there were no obvious sequence correlations between the selected tRNAs, there were correlations between certain tertiary structural elements and binding efficiency to different antiterminator model RNAs. In addition, one antiterminator model selected primarily for a kissing tRNA T loop–antiterminator bulge interaction, while another antiterminator model resulted in no such selection. The selection results indicate that, at the level of tertiary structure, there are ideal matches between tRNAs and antiterminator model RNAs consistent with in vivo observations and that additional recognition features, beyond base pair complementarity, may play a role in the formation of the complex

Time-restricted feeding of pigs: social and feeding behavior

Twenty finishing pigs were used to evaluate effects of time-restricted feeding on social interactions and feeding patterns of pigs at feeding time. Correlation analysis for pairs of traits, involving feeding activities, social interactions, and rate of gain indicate that more aggressive pigs went first to the feeder, fed more frequently, and gained faster. Although on continuous artificial lighting, timed-fed pigs displayed more feeding and aggressive behavior during day light hours.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 15, 198