372 research outputs found
The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making
This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world
Metabolic Disturbances Associated with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
The metabolic disturbances that underlie systemic lupus erythematosus are currently unknown. A metabolomic study was executed, comparing the sera of 20 SLE patients against that of healthy controls, using LC/MS and GC/MS platforms. Validation of key differences was performed using an independent cohort of 38 SLE patients and orthogonal assays. SLE sera showed evidence of profoundly dampened glycolysis, Krebs cycle, fatty acid β oxidation and amino acid metabolism, alluding to reduced energy biogenesis from all sources. Whereas long-chain fatty acids, including the n3 and n6 essential fatty acids, were significantly reduced, medium chain fatty acids and serum free fatty acids were elevated. The SLE metabolome exhibited profound lipid peroxidation, reflective of oxidative damage. Deficiencies were noted in the cellular anti-oxidant, glutathione, and all methyl group donors, including cysteine, methionine, and choline, as well as phosphocholines. The best discriminators of SLE included elevated lipid peroxidation products, MDA, gamma-glutamyl peptides, GGT, leukotriene B4 and 5-HETE. Importantly, similar elevations were not observed in another chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis. To sum, comprehensive profiling of the SLE metabolome reveals evidence of heightened oxidative stress, inflammation, reduced energy generation, altered lipid profiles and a pro-thrombotic state. Resetting the SLE metabolome, either by targeting selected molecules or by supplementing the diet with essential fatty acids, vitamins and methyl group donors offers novel opportunities for disease modulation in this disabling systemic autoimmune ailment
Gene Expression Changes in the Prefrontal Cortex, Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Nucleus Accumbens of Mood Disorders Subjects That Committed Suicide
Suicidal behaviors are frequent in mood disorders patients but only a subset of them ever complete suicide. Understanding predisposing factors for suicidal behaviors in high risk populations is of major importance for the prevention and treatment of suicidal behaviors. The objective of this project was to investigate gene expression changes associated with suicide in brains of mood disorder patients by microarrays (Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus2.0) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC: 6 Non-suicides, 15 suicides), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC: 6NS, 9S) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc: 8NS, 13S). ANCOVA was used to control for age, gender, pH and RNA degradation, with P≤0.01 and fold change±1.25 as criteria for significance. Pathway analysis revealed serotonergic signaling alterations in the DLPFC and glucocorticoid signaling alterations in the ACC and NAcc. The gene with the lowest p-value in the DLPFC was the 5-HT2A gene, previously associated both with suicide and mood disorders. In the ACC 6 metallothionein genes were down-regulated in suicide (MT1E, MT1F, MT1G, MT1H, MT1X, MT2A) and three were down-regulated in the NAcc (MT1F, MT1G, MT1H). Differential expression of selected genes was confirmed by qPCR, we confirmed the 5-HT2A alterations and the global down-regulation of members of the metallothionein subfamilies MT 1 and 2 in suicide completers. MTs 1 and 2 are neuro-protective following stress and glucocorticoid stimulations, suggesting that in suicide victims neuroprotective response to stress and cortisol may be diminished. Our results thus suggest that suicide-specific expression changes in mood disorders involve both glucocorticoids regulated metallothioneins and serotonergic signaling in different regions of the brain
Limits on WWZ and WW\gamma couplings from p\bar{p}\to e\nu jj X events at \sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV
We present limits on anomalous WWZ and WW-gamma couplings from a search for
WW and WZ production in p-bar p collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV. We use p-bar p
-> e-nu jjX events recorded with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider during the 1992-1995 run. The data sample corresponds to an integrated
luminosity of 96.0+-5.1 pb^(-1). Assuming identical WWZ and WW-gamma coupling
parameters, the 95% CL limits on the CP-conserving couplings are
-0.33<lambda<0.36 (Delta-kappa=0) and -0.43<Delta-kappa<0.59 (lambda=0), for a
form factor scale Lambda = 2.0 TeV. Limits based on other assumptions are also
presented.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 2 table
Search for New Physics in e mu X Data at D0 Using Sleuth: A Quasi-Model-Independent Search Strategy for New Physics
We present a quasi-model-independent search for the physics responsible for
electroweak symmetry breaking. We define final states to be studied, and
construct a rule that identifies a set of relevant variables for any particular
final state. A new algorithm ("Sleuth") searches for regions of excess in those
variables and quantifies the significance of any detected excess. After
demonstrating the sensitivity of the method, we apply it to the semi-inclusive
channel e mu X collected in 108 pb^-1 of ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.8 TeV
at the D0 experiment during 1992-1996 at the Fermilab Tevatron. We find no
evidence of new high p_T physics in this sample.Comment: 23 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
Search For Heavy Pointlike Dirac Monopoles
We have searched for central production of a pair of photons with high
transverse energies in collisions at TeV using of data collected with the D\O detector at the Fermilab Tevatron in
1994--1996. If they exist, virtual heavy pointlike Dirac monopoles could
rescatter pairs of nearly real photons into this final state via a box diagram.
We observe no excess of events above background, and set lower 95% C.L. limits
of on the mass of a spin 0, 1/2, or 1 Dirac
monopole.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
The Dijet Mass Spectrum and a Search for Quark Compositeness in bar{p}p Collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV
Using the DZero detector at the 1.8 TeV pbarp Fermilab Tevatron collider, we
have measured the inclusive dijet mass spectrum in the central pseudorapidity
region |eta_jet| < 1.0 for dijet masses greater than 200 Gev/c^2. We have also
measured the ratio of spectra sigma(|eta_jet| < 0.5)/sigma(0.5 < |eta_jet| <
1.0). The order alpha_s^3 QCD predictions are in good agreement with the data
and we rule out models of quark compositeness with a contact interaction scale
< 2.4 TeV at the 95% confidence level.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Search for High Mass Photon Pairs in p-pbar --> gamma-gamma-jet-jet Events at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV
A search has been carried out for events in the channel p-barp --> gamma
gamma jet jet. Such a signature can characterize the production of a
non-standard Higgs boson together with a W or Z boson. We refer to this
non-standard Higgs, having standard model couplings to vector bosons but no
coupling to fermions, as a "bosonic Higgs." With the requirement of two high
transverse energy photons and two jets, the diphoton mass (m(gamma gamma))
distribution is consistent with expected background. A 90(95)% C.L. upper limit
on the cross section as a function of mass is calculated, ranging from
0.60(0.80) pb for m(gamma gamma) = 65 GeV/c^2 to 0.26(0.34) pb for m(gamma
gamma) = 150 GeV/c^2, corresponding to a 95% C.L. lower limit on the mass of a
bosonic Higgs of 78.5 GeV/c^2.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Replacement has new H->gamma gamma branching
ratios and corresponding new mass limit
Ratio of the Isolated Photon Cross Sections at \sqrt{s} = 630 and 1800 GeV
The inclusive cross section for production of isolated photons has been
measured in \pbarp collisions at GeV with the \D0 detector at
the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The photons span a transverse energy ()
range from 7-49 GeV and have pseudorapidity . This measurement is
combined with to previous \D0 result at GeV to form a ratio
of the cross sections. Comparison of next-to-leading order QCD with the
measured cross section at 630 GeV and ratio of cross sections show satisfactory
agreement in most of the range.Comment: 7 pages. Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 251805, (2001
Zgamma Production in pbarp Collisions at sqrt(s)=1.8 TeV and Limits on Anomalous ZZgamma and Zgammagamma Couplings
We present a study of Z +gamma + X production in p-bar p collisions at
sqrt{S}=1.8 TeV from 97 (87) pb^{-1} of data collected in the eegamma
(mumugamma) decay channel with the D0 detector at Fermilab. The event yield and
kinematic characteristics are consistent with the Standard Model predictions.
We obtain limits on anomalous ZZgamma and Zgammagamma couplings for form factor
scales Lambda = 500 GeV and Lambda = 750 GeV. Combining this analysis with our
previous results yields 95% CL limits |h{Z}_{30}| < 0.36, |h{Z}_{40}| < 0.05,
|h{gamma}_{30}| < 0.37, and |h{gamma}_{40}| < 0.05 for a form factor scale
Lambda=750 GeV.Comment: 17 Pages including 2 Figures. Submitted to PR
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