What Does That Mean? Investigating Obfuscation and Readability Cues as Indicators of Deception in Fraudulent Financial Reports

Building on theories of obfuscation and deception from accounting and communication literature, we examined 202 fraudulent and non-fraudulent 10-Ks by focusing on 25 linguistic cues. Our findings suggest that authors of fraudulent 10-Ks chose more complex words, signaling words of achievement and cause, and qualifying conjunctions. We found that truthful 10-Ks displayed more present tense verbs and were easier to read as indicated by the FRE readability measure. Those who construct 10-Ks may choose to deceive strategically by hiding bad news in more complicated content while trumpeting good news and achievements

Organizational Citizenship Behavior in the IS Context: A Research Agenda

n organizations in general, cooperative behavior across functional units is increasingly essential with the adoption of total quality initiatives and self-managed work groups. Within the Information Systems (IS) function, cooperation across and within functional boundaries remains critical. In today\u27s organizations, Information Systems personnel (ISP) and users collaborate in a variety of ways (e.g., business process reengineering, shared responsibility for information centers or end-user computing, joint application development, development of chargeback schemes, and distributed computing). Information Systems personnel routinely contribute to team projects that span departments. For example, informationengineers, database administrators, and systems analysts work together during various stages of database application projects. Within IS, the frequency of day-to-day activities that span departmental or functional boundaries (e.g., teamwork, shared responsibilities, and consultative activities) is unusually high. In these boundary-spanning activities, ISP need to exhibit a high degree of behavior not explicitly detailed in formal job descriptions; this type of behavior is labelled extra-role . Additionally, many IS positions, comprised of a wide range of activities, offer unique opportunities for extra-role behavior because these jobs, often professional in nature, operate under significant autonomy. Given this combination of high need and latitude for extra-, or pro-, role behavior in IS, we argue that it is imperative to understand this behavior. To support research in this area, this paper defines the construct, Organizational Citizenship Behavior, which has been used in organizational research of extra-role behavior, discusses how this construct could describe behavior in the IS work setting, and poses research questions about the predictors and outcomes of such behavior

Association of Blood Lead Levels with Onset of Puberty in Russian Boys

Background: Epidemiologic studies suggest a temporal trend of earlier onset and longer duration of puberty, raising concerns regarding the potential impact of environmental factors on pubertal development. Lead exposure has been associated with delayed pubertal onset in girls; however, epidemiologic data in boys are limited. Methods: We used multivariable logistic regression models to explore the cross-sectional association of blood lead levels with growth and pubertal onset based on physician-assessed testicular volume (TV) and pubertal staging in 489 boys 8–9 years of age from Chapaevsk, Russia. We used multivariable linear regression models to assess associations of blood lead levels with somatic growth at the study entry visit. Results: The median (25th–75th percentile) blood lead level was 3 μg/dL (2–5 μg/dL). Height, weight, body mass index, birth weight, and gestational age were predictive of the onset of puberty as assessed either by TV (greater than 3 mL), genitalia stage (G2), or both. Blood lead level was inversely associated with height (p less than 0.001) and weight (p = 0.06) after adjustment for birth weight, gestational age, and age at examination. In multivariable adjusted analyses, boys with blood lead levels ≥ 5 μg/dL had 43% reduced odds of having entered G2 compared with those with lower levels (odds ratio = 0.57; 95% confidence interval, 0.34–0.95, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Relatively low environmental blood lead levels were associated with decreased growth and differences in pubertal onset in periadolescent Russian boys. Future analyses of this prospective cohort will address pubertal onset and progression in relation to lead and other environmental chemicals

Functional analyses of <i>Agaricus bisporus </i>Serine Proteinase 1 (SPR1) reveals a role in utilisation of humic rich substrates and adaptation to the leaf-litter ecological niche

Agaricus bisporus is a secondary decomposer fungus and an excellent model for the adaptation, persistence and growth of fungi in humic‐rich environments such as soils of temperate woodland and pastures. The A. bisporus serine proteinase SPR1 is induced by humic acids and is highly expressed during growth on compost. Three Spr1 gene silencing cassettes were constructed around sense, antisense and non‐translatable‐stop strategies (pGRsensehph, pGRantihph and pGRstophph). Transformation of A. bisporus with these cassettes generated cultures showing a reduction in extracellular proteinase activity as demonstrated by the reduction, or abolition, of a clearing zone on plate‐based bioassays. These lines were then assessed by detailed enzyme assay, RT‐qPCR and fruiting. Serine proteinase activity in liquid cultures was reduced in 83% of transformants. RT‐qPCR showed reduced Spr1 mRNA levels in all transformants analysed, and these correlated with reduced enzyme activity. When fruiting was induced, highly‐silenced transformant AS5 failed to colonize the compost, whilst for those that did colonize the compost, 60% gave a reduction in mushroom yield. Transcriptional, biochemical and developmental observations, demonstrate that SPR1 has an important role in nutrient acquisition in compost and that SPR1 is a key enzyme in the adaptation of Agaricus to the humic‐rich ecological niche formed during biomass degradation

The effect of rituximab therapy on immunoglobulin levels in patients with multisystem autoimmune disease.

BACKGROUND: Rituximab is a B cell depleting anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody. CD20 is not expressed on mature plasma cells and accordingly rituximab does not have immediate effects on immunoglobulin levels. However, after rituximab some patients develop hypogammaglobulinaemia. METHODS: We performed a single centre retrospective review of 177 patients with multisystem autoimmune disease receiving rituximab between 2002 and 2010. The incidence, severity and complications of hypogammaglobulinaemia were investigated. RESULTS: Median rituximab dose was 6 g (1-20.2) and total follow-up was 8012 patient-months. At first rituximab, the proportion of patients with IgG <6 g/L was 13% and remained stable at 17% at 24 months and 14% at 60 months. Following rituximab, 61/177 patients (34%) had IgG <6 g/L for at least three consecutive months, of whom 7/177 (4%) had IgG <3 g/L. Low immunoglobulin levels were associated with higher glucocorticoid doses during follow up and there was a trend for median IgG levels to fall after ≥ 6 g rituximab. 45/115 (39%) with IgG ≥ 6 g/L versus 26/62 (42%) with IgG <6 g/L experienced severe infections (p=0.750). 6/177 patients (3%) received intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy, all with IgG <5 g/L and recurrent infection. CONCLUSIONS: In multi-system autoimmune disease, prior cyclophosphamide exposure and glucocorticoid therapy but not cumulative rituximab dose was associated with an increased incidence of hypogammaglobulinaemia. Severe infections were common but were not associated with immunoglobulin levels. Repeat dose rituximab therapy appears safe with judicious monitoring

Genetic Modification of the Association between Peripubertal Dioxin Exposure and Pubertal Onset in a Cohort of Russian Boys

Background: Exposure to dioxins has been associated with delayed pubertal onset in both epidemiologic and animal studies. Whether genetic polymorphisms may modify this association is currently unknown. Identifying such genes could provide insight into mechanistic pathways. This is one of the first studies to assess genetic susceptibility to dioxins. Objectives: We evaluated whether common polymorphisms in genes affecting either molecular responses to dioxin exposure or pubertal onset influence the association between peripubertal serum dioxin concentration and male pubertal onset. Methods: In this prospective cohort of Russian adolescent boys (n = 392), we assessed gene–environment interactions for 337 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 46 candidate genes and two intergenic regions. Dioxins were measured in the boys’ serum at age 8–9 years. Pubertal onset was based on testicular volume and on genitalia staging. Statistical approaches for controlling for multiple testing were used, both with and without prescreening for marginal genetic associations. Results: After accounting for multiple testing, two tag SNPs in the glucocorticoid receptor (GR/NR3C1) gene and one in the estrogen receptor-α (ESR1) gene were significant (q < 0.2) modifiers of the association between peripubertal serum dioxin concentration and male pubertal onset defined by genitalia staging, although not by testicular volume. The results were sensitive to whether multiple comparison adjustment was applied to all gene–environment tests or only to those with marginal genetic associations. Conclusions: Common genetic polymorphisms in the glucocorticoid receptor and estrogen receptor-α genes may modify the association between peripubertal serum dioxin concentration and pubertal onset. Further studies are warranted to confirm these findings

A Prospective Hospital Study to Evaluate the Diagnostic Accuracy of Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Early Detection of Leptospirosis in Laos.

Leptospirosis is a globally important cause of acute febrile illness, and a common cause of non-malarial fever in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Simple rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are needed to enable health-care workers, particularly in low resource settings, to diagnose leptospirosis early and give timely targeted treatment. This study compared four commercially available RDTs to detect human IgM against Leptospira spp. in a head-to-head prospective evaluation in Mahosot Hospital, Lao PDR. Patients with an acute febrile illness consistent with leptospirosis (N = 695) were included in the study during the 2014 rainy season. Samples were tested with four RDTs: ("Test-it" [Life Assay, Cape Town, South Africa; N = 418]; "Leptorapide" [Linnodee, Ballyclare, Northern Ireland; N = 492]; "Dual Path Platform" [DPP] [Chembio, Medford, NY; N = 530]; and "SD-IgM" [Standard Diagnostics, Yongin, South Korea; N = 481]). Diagnostic performance characteristics were calculated and compared with a composite reference standard combining polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (rrs), microscopic agglutination tests (MATs), and culture. Of all patients investigated, 39/695 (5.6%) were positive by culture, PCR, or MAT. The sensitivity and specificity of the RDTs ranged greatly from 17.9% to 63.6% and 62.1% to 96.8%, respectively. None of the investigated RDTs reached a sensitivity or specificity of > 90% for detecting Leptospira infections on admission. In conclusion, our investigation highlights the challenges associated with Leptospira diagnostics, particularly in populations with multiple exposures. These findings emphasize the need for extensive prospective evaluations in multiple endemic settings to establish the value of rapid tools for diagnosing fevers to allow targeting of antibiotics

Surveillance of alloantibodies after transplantation identifies the risk of chronic rejection

The monitoring of the levels of alloantibodies following transplantation might facilitate early diagnosis of chronic rejection (CR), the leading cause of renal allograft failure. Here, we used serial alloantibody surveillance to monitor patients with preoperative positive flow cytometric crossmatch (FCXM). Sixty-nine of 308 renal transplant patients in our center had preoperative positive FCXM. Blood was collected quarterly during the first postoperative year and tested by FCXM and single antigen bead luminometry, more sensitive techniques than complement-dependent cytotoxic crossmatching. Distinct post-transplant profiles emerged and were associated with different clinical outcomes. Two-thirds of patients showed complete elimination of FCXM and solid-phase assay reactions within 1 year, had few adverse events, and a 95% 3-year graft survival. In contrast, the remaining third failed to eliminate flow FCXM or solid-phase reactions directed against HLA class I or II antibodies. The inferior graft survival (67%) with loss in this latter group was primarily due to CR. Thus, systematic assessment of longitudinal changes in alloantibody levels, either by FCXM or solid-phase assay, can help identify patients at greater risk of developing CR