Financial reporting in 1920: The case of industrial companies;

This study uses the 1920 Moody\u27s Analysis of Industrial Investments to assess the extent of financial reporting by U.S. industrial companies. The reporting of an income statement and a balance sheet, as well as the amount of disclosure in both of these statements, is examined empirically to determine which economic factors influence this reporting. The results show that corporate-governance, operating, and financing factors all significantly influence the reporting of financial statements and the extent of disclosure within those statements. However, the significant factors vary across the two financial statements and the two decisions considered (reporting a particular statement and the amount of disclosure within the statement to report). All factors are shown to influence significantly the decision to report both a balance sheet and an income statement and the amount of information to report in a balance sheet. The decision regarding the amount of information to report in an income statement is only influenced by corporate-governance and operating factors

Earnings management among firms during the pre-SEC area: a Benford\u27s Law analysis

This paper examines the existence of financial statement manipulation in the U.S. during a time period when many of the current motivations did not exist. The study looks for types of manipulations that would be motivated by the pre-SEC operating environment. To examine this issue, a sample of U.S. firms from the 1915 Moody\u27s Analyses of Investments is divided into industrial firms, railroads, and utilities. The railroad and utility companies faced rate regulation during this time period, providing incentives to manipulate the financial reports so as to maximize the rate received. Industrial firms were not regulated. These companies wanted to attract investors, motivating manipulations to increase income and net assets. To determine if manipulations are occurring, a Benford\u27s Law analysis is used. This analysis examines the frequency of numbers in certain positions within an amount to determine if the distribution of the numbers is similar to the pattern documented by Benford\u27s Law. Some manipulations consistent with expectations are found

An Analysis of Social Factors Influencing the Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards

his paper examines the decision of 120 countries to permit or not to permit the use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for listed companies incorporated within their borders. An empirical model is developed considering variables related to culture, political systems and economic systems of the countries. Least squares regression was used to examine which variables significantly influence the decision to allow the use of IFRS. The results from this regression indicate that literacy rates and net import activity positively influence the decision to allow IFRS. Less economically developed countries were also shown to be more likely to allow IFRS. A model using these three variables was used to predict whether countries would allow IFRS. The model was able to statistically improve on the prediction that all countries would use IFRS

The Jean Cocteau Collection: How \u27Astonishing\u27?

Between 1963 and 1971, the Syracuse University Library acquired more than two hundred fifty holograph manuscripts by Jean Cocteau. These are now to be found in the George Arents Research Library for Special Collections, where they enhance an already rich assortment of French manuscripts that have been thoroughly listed in a previous article in the Courier. An abridged history of their acquisition might be told here. The story is interesting, for it includes several of those ironical twists that made so much of Cocteau\u27s life seem like a chassé-croisé with Death, choreographed by the artist himself

An Interview with Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

The renowned historian Le Roy Ladurie dicusses his influences, his writing, his career as scholar and director of the Bibliotheque Nationale, and his views on Europe\u27s religious, economic, and political inheritance

Small Molecule Inhibitors of Human Papillomavirus Protein - Protein Interactions

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) have now been identified as a necessary cause of benign and malignant lesions of the differentiating epithelium, particularly cervical cancer, the second most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. While two prophylactic HPV vaccines and screening programs are available, there is currently no antiviral drug for the treatment of HPV infections and associated diseases. The recent progress toward the identification and characterization of specific molecular targets for small molecule-based approaches provides prospect for the development of effective HPV antiviral compounds. Traditionally, antiviral therapies target viral enzymes. HPV encode for few proteins, however, and rely extensively on the infected cell for completion of their life cycle. This article will review the functions of the viral E1 helicase, which encodes the only enzymatic function of the virus, of the E2 regulatory protein, and of the viral E6 and E7 oncogenes in viral replication and pathogenesis. Particular emphasis will be placed on the recent progress made towards the development of novel small molecule inhibitors that specifically target and inhibit the functions of these viral proteins, as well as their interactions with other viral and/or cellular proteins

Phylogeny of Poa (Poaceae) Based on trnT–trnF Sequence Data: Major Clades and Basal Relationships

Poa, the largest genus of grasses (Poaceae) with over 500 species, occurs throughout temperate and boreal regions in both hemispheres. A phylogenetic study of Poa based on trnT–trnF chloroplast DNA sequence data is presented focusing on basal relationships, major clades, generic boundaries, and placement of putatively closely related genera. Results support the monophyly of the main lineage of Poa if subgen. Andinae is excluded and Anthochloa, Austrofestuca, Dissanthelium (at least in part), and Eremopoa are included. The main Poa clade and subgen. Andinae resolve within a strongly supported Poinae–Alopecurinae–Miliinae clade (PAM). The subdivision of Poa into five major clades, proposed based on chloroplast restriction site data, is supported by sequence data. The basal-most clade (ArcSyl) comprises Poa subgen. Arctopoa and subgen. Poa sect. Sylvestres, two groups having disparate morphology, but similar cpDNA. The next-diverging clade (BAPO), comprising sects. Bolbophorum, Alpinae, Parodiochloa, and Ochlopoa, is strongly supported and characterized by highly divergent cpDNA. The majority of Poa species and sections form a strongly supported clade comprising major clades SPOSTA, PoM, and HAMBADD. Newly reported in this study is Eremopoa as a distinct lineage positioned between this higher Poa clade and BAPO. A revised infrageneric classification of Poa comprising five subgenera is proposed. Two new subgeneric divisions of Poa are proposed: subgen. Stenopoa for the SPOSTA clade and supersect. Homalopoa for the HAMBADD clade. The monotypic genus Anthochloa is reduced to Poa sect. Anthochloa, and its one species recognized as Poa lepidula

Finite-size effects on the Hamiltonian dynamics of the XY-model

The dynamical properties of the finite-size magnetization M in the critical region T<T_{KTB} of the planar rotor model on a L x L square lattice are analyzed by means of microcanonical simulations . The behavior of the q=0 structure factor at high frequencies is consistent with field-theoretical results, but new additional features occur at lower frequencies. The motion of M determines a region of spectral lines and the presence of a central peak, which we attribute to phase diffusion. Near T_{KTB} the diffusion constant scales with system size as D ~ L^{-1.6(3)}.Comment: To be published in Europhysics Letter

B cells are capable of independently eliciting rapid reactivation of encephalitogenic CD4 T cells in a murine model of multiple sclerosis

<div><p>Recent success with B cell depletion therapies has revitalized efforts to understand the pathogenic role of B cells in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Using the adoptive transfer system of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a murine model of MS, we have previously shown that mice in which B cells are the only MHCII-expressing antigen presenting cell (APC) are susceptible to EAE. However, a reproducible delay in the day of onset of disease driven by exclusive B cell antigen presentation suggests that B cells require optimal conditions to function as APCs in EAE. In this study, we utilize an <i>in vivo</i> genetic system to conditionally and temporally regulate expression of MHCII to test the hypothesis that B cell APCs mediate attenuated and delayed neuroinflammatory T cell responses during EAE. Remarkably, induction of MHCII on B cells following the transfer of encephalitogenic CD4 T cells induced a rapid and robust form of EAE, while no change in the time to disease onset occurred for recipient mice in which MHCII is induced on a normal complement of APC subsets. Changes in CD4 T cell activation over time did not account for more rapid onset of EAE symptoms in this new B cell-mediated EAE model. Our system represents a novel model to study how the timing of pathogenic cognate interactions between lymphocytes facilitates the development of autoimmune attacks within the CNS.</p></div