Legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards: The Case of the IVSC Discussion Paper – Determination of fair value of intangible assets for IFRS reporting purposes

This research studies, through a content analysis of the comment letters to the IVSC project on fair value determination of intangible assets, the legitimacy of this professional body, or of the accounting associations, to develop measurement standards specific to this accounting concept. At present, with the exception of FAS 157, no professional standard offers clear technical solutions for fair value determination for financial reporting purposes. We have come to the conclusion that, among respondents, accountants are more reserved than valuators in what regards the IVSC regulating of the fair value measurement. The Anglo-Saxon respondents are more open to accept the IVSC DP as compared to respondents from other countries, hence the IVSC legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards. Generally, we consider that accounting bodies, rather than valuation bodies, should have legitimacy to develop fair value measurement standards.fair value, professional standards, valuation techniques, guidance, project acceptation, value hierarchy

Clinical Data Related to Breast Reconstruction; Looking Back on the 21th Century and Forward to the Next Steps

Breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery represents a positive step in restoring a women’s idea of self by reestablishing her feminine features and confidence, thus improving essential aesthetic and emotional aspects. Regarded as the cornerstone in breast cancer management, the surgical treatment has come a long way since 1884 when W.S. Halsted performed the first radical mastectomy- a disfiguring procedure which was conducted until the late 70s when owing to contemporary advancements it was surpassed by modified radical mastectomies and other far less invasive approaches. Either performed in an immediate or a delayed fashion breast reconstruction can be achieved not only through alloplastic procedures using expander/ implant prosthesis but also through autologous tissue transfers wisely harvested from different parts of the body or through methods that combine the two. When planning a breast reconstruction, after the oncologist formally rules out any form of residual cancer, one must take into consideration several critical factors that will eventually condition the technique election process for example the possible local or systemic adjuvant therapy. Although a “one size fits all” breast reconstruction procedure has yet to prevail, the extensive volume of published literature regarding this matter enables a well-experienced plastic surgeon to proceed with careful procedural selection allowing for the best possible results

The effect of an active transcutaneous bone conduction device on spatial release from masking

Objective: The aim was to quantify the effect of the experimental active transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant (BCI) on spatial release from masking (SRM) in subjects with bilateral or unilateral conductive and mixed hearing loss. Design: Measurements were performed in a sound booth with five loudspeakers at 0\ub0, +/−30\ub0 and +/−150\ub0 azimuth. Target speech was presented frontally, and interfering speech from either the front (co-located) or surrounding (separated) loudspeakers. SRM was calculated as the difference between the separated and the co-located speech recognition threshold (SRT). Study Sample: Twelve patients (aged 22–76 years) unilaterally implanted with the BCI were included. Results: A positive SRM, reflecting a benefit of spatially separating interferers from target speech, existed for all subjects in unaided condition, and for nine subjects (75%) in aided condition. Aided SRM was lower compared to unaided in nine of the subjects. There was no difference in SRM between patients with bilateral and unilateral hearing loss. In aided situation, SRT improved only for patients with bilateral hearing loss. Conclusions: The BCI fitted unilaterally in patients with bilateral or unilateral conductive/mixed hearing loss seems to reduce SRM. However, data indicates that SRT is improved or maintained for patients with bilateral and unilateral hearing loss, respectively

Convergence or Divergence between National and International View on Tangible Assets

A controversial subject at the present time is the issue of harmonization of accounting both at European level and globally. Although much has been made in bringing the accounting at a uniform level, this request it has not reached yet. A comparative study between the accounting treatment of fixed assets amounted to Romanian national regulations and in accordance with international rules, will bring out the best in show the similarities and differences between the regulations. The rules used for comparison will be OMFP 3055/2009, International Accounting Standard 16 – Tangible Assets and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 360

Engineering novel lantibiotics to target gut pathogens

Infections with multi-drug resistant bacteria are an urgent health security threat and bacteriocins such as the subclass of lantibiotics represent a promising alternative source to traditional antibiotics. The gut intestinal tract ecosystem has a complex set of bacteria with a huge bacteriogenic potential and it can be explored as a source for new lantibiotic peptides. Using a genome mining approach, a clos gene cluster that has the potential to encode for novel lantibiotics was previously discovered in a strain of Blautia isolated from the human gut. This clos operon may encode two nisin-like peptides. Several nisin derived clos-like sequences were generated, however they did not have improved properties when tested under GI tract conditions. Since we lack the molecular tools to manipulate the original Blautia obeum A2-162 gut bacterium that harbours the clos operon, the entire clos cluster was cloned in Lactococcus lactis where it was possible to obtain heterologous expression of the Clos peptides under the control of the nisin inducible NisRK regulatory system. The production of preClosA was demonstrated using an antibody raised against the Clos leader. The biological activity of the Clos peptide was confirmed after treatment with trypsin where the Clos leader was presumably cleaved, releasing the biologically active and mature Clos peptide that was highly active against two clinically important pathogens, Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile as well as against L. lactis MG1614 sensitive indicator strains. Using immunoprecipitation, we obtained pure Clos peptides in solution and after trypsin treatment and alkylation of the cysteine residues, the post-translational modifications and the structure of the preClosA peptides were confirmed. Some of the anticipated dehydrations and ring formations (Rings D and E) were also identified using LC-MS. The approach taken in this PhD project confirms that genome mining can be used to identify more gut bacteria with potential to produce novel lantibiotics

Processing and Structure of the Lantibiotic Peptide Nso From the Human Gut Bacterium Blautia obeum A2-162 analysed by Mass Spectrometry

A previously reported gene cluster encoding four nisin-like peptides, three with the same sequence (NsoA1-3) and the unique NsoA4, produced antimicrobial activity in the presence of trypsin after heterologous expression in Lactococcus lactis. Protein extracts were separated by SDS gel electrophoresis or immunoprecipitation using an antibody to the NsoA2 leader. Tryptic peptides observed by LC-MS/MS covered the complete sequence of preNsoA1-3 and part of the leader sequence of preNsoA4 and confirmed the expression and the predicted sequences of the preNsoA peptides. Further, the data revealed that the preNsoA1-3 peptides were partly modified with dehydrations and formation of lanthionine rings. A certain amount of fully modified preNsoA1-3 was observed. Details of modifications of the core peptide and the C-terminal tryptic peptide TATCGCHITGK covering rings D and E indicated that 22% of these preNsoA1-3 peptides were completely modified. A lower amount of ring formation is estimated for rings A-C. Intact masses of immunoprecipitation-derived peptides determined by LC-MS accurately matched the expected preNsoA precursor peptides. The most abundant peptides detected were preNsoA2-3-8H2O followed by preNsoA1-8H2O and other states of dehydration. The results confirm incomplete processing of preNsoA peptides in the heterologous system, with the formation of a certain amount of fully modified peptides

It’s not All Shiny and Glamorous: Loneliness and Fear of Missing Out among Digital Nomads

The term ‘digital nomad’ has gained popularity to describe professionals who work remotely from different locations facilitated by using information and communication technology. This study explores the interaction between digital nomadism and loneliness, digital nomads’ coping mechanisms to fight loneliness (with a special focus on social media use), as well as the phenomenon of fear of missing out (FoMO). Digital nomads who often experience isolation may turn to the use of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram to keep in contact with family and friends and other social media like Facebook groups, Slack, and MeetUp to meet new people. However, intensive use of social media can generate FoMO. By using 15 in-depth interviews, this paper aims to explore loneliness and FoMO as issues that might negatively intersect with digital nomads’ wellbeing, thus spotlighting some of the hidden dark sides of digital nomadism that go too often unnoticed

Soil temperatures in an Atlantic high mountain environment: the Forcadona buried ice patch (Picos de Europa, NW Spain)

The present study focuses on the analysis of the ground and near-rock surface air thermal conditions at the Forcadona glacial cirque (2227 m a.s.l.) located in the Western Massif of the Picos de Europa, Spain. Temperatures have been monitored in three distinct geomorphological and topographical sites in the Forcadona area over the period 2006–11. The Forcadona buried ice patch is the remnant of a Little Ice Age glacier located in the bottom of a glacial cirque. Its location in a deep cirque determines abundant snow accumulation, with snow cover between 8 and 12 months. The presence of snow favours stable soil temperatures and geomorphic stability. Similarly to other Cantabrian Mountains, the annual thermal regime of the soil is defined by two seasonal periods (continuous thaw with daily oscillations and isothermal regime), as well as two short transition periods. However, the results showed evidence of a significantly different annual thermal regime at the ground and near-rock surface air. Relatively stable soil thermal regimes were observed at the moraine and talus sites, while a more dynamic pattern was recorded at the rock wall site. Here, a higher interannual variability in the number of freeze–thaw days was also detected, which showed evidence of the important role of the snow cover as a ground surface insulator in the area. Seasonal frost conditions are widespread today in the high lands of the massif. No permafrost regime was detected in the area, though mean temperatures measured at 0.5 m depth at the Forcadona buried ice patch during 2006–07 (0.1 °C) suggest that permanent negative values may be reached at deeper layersinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Get closer to activate it! An educational tool for people with multiple disabilities

This paper presents an interactive system which offers multimodal feedback to users with severe to profound disabilities to improve their relationship with the environment allowing them to control it. The system is based on the information provided by a distance sensor connected to an Arduino board. The distance information is based on the position of the user’s hand, and it is then passed to six different action/reaction applications which offer motivation and engage users to train intentional motor movements of their upper body limbs and to improve their relationship with the environment.XIII Workshop Tecnología Informática Aplicada en Educación (WTIAE)Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI