Analysis of determinants influencing the level of intellectual capital disclosure: The case of FTSE 100 entities

Purpose: The paper deals with the issue of intellectual capital (IC) and its disclosure in the financialstatements and other parts of annual reports of FTSE 100 entities. The paper aims to identify thedeterminants that influence entities to reveal IC related information and to highlight the theoreticalaspects behind such determinants, resulting in comprehensive findings. The results of the analysis can beused to understand what leads entities to make decisions in the field of non-financial disclosure and helpin the development of the IC reporting framework.Design/methodology: The research is devoted to the analysis of the relationship between the level ofIC disclosures by companies and the analysed determinants – size, asset structure, profitability, industryand the factor of time. The dataset can be characterised as a panel data set containing 100 firms fromthe FTSE100 Index for the four most recent financial years (2018-2021). To produce a comprehensiveset of results, descriptive statistics are used, followed by regression and correlation analysis. The randomeffect method is used as it has a higher predictive power than pooled OLS and fixed effect methods inanalysing panel data.Findings: Based on the results of the analysis, it was concluded that the profitability measured as ROAis not a key factor of intellectual capital disclosure in the annual reports of FTSE 100 companies. Fromthe point of view of size, there exists a statistically significant relationship between total assets and allcomponents of IC, respectively overall IC. The analysis also showed a statistically significant impact ofthe sector in which companies operate. Particularly, companies in the service sector report moreinformation on human capital and companies in the high-tech sector report more information onstructural capital. A significant effect of asset structure was found for structural capital but only takinginto account the effect of goodwill, not through the effect of other intangible assets. Finally, the paperdemonstrated a positive and significant effect of the time factor on the level of reporting of all ICcomponents.Originality/value: This paper focuses on the determinants influencing the level of IC reporting in arepresentative sample of entities from the highly active FTSE100 Index, which provides a very recentand specific data sample from a research perspective. The paper is based on determinants that arefrequently reported in existing research, and it extends the scope by incorporating the effect ofintangible assets and goodwill as variables representing the asset structure in addition to the effect oftime. This paper presents statistically based results on the relationships between the determinants and ICbut also between the different elements of IC (human capital, structural capital and relational capital),which provide insights into the structure of reported information on intellectual capital. This insight is very substantial given that many studies ignore the characteristics of the different components of the ICas they may be affected by different determinantsPeer Reviewe

Complex Patterns of Chromosome 11 Aberrations in Myeloid Malignancies Target CBL, MLL, DDB1 and LMO2

Exome sequencing of primary tumors identifies complex somatic mutation patterns. Assignment of relevance of individual somatic mutations is difficult and poses the next challenge for interpretation of next generation sequencing data. Here we present an approach how exome sequencing in combination with SNP microarray data may identify targets of chromosomal aberrations in myeloid malignancies. The rationale of this approach is that hotspots of chromosomal aberrations might also harbor point mutations in the target genes of deletions, gains or uniparental disomies (UPDs). Chromosome 11 is a frequent target of lesions in myeloid malignancies. Therefore, we studied chromosome 11 in a total of 813 samples from 773 individual patients with different myeloid malignancies by SNP microarrays and complemented the data with exome sequencing in selected cases exhibiting chromosome 11 defects. We found gains, losses and UPDs of chromosome 11 in 52 of the 813 samples (6.4%). Chromosome 11q UPDs frequently associated with mutations of CBL. In one patient the 11qUPD amplified somatic mutations in both CBL and the DNA repair gene DDB1. A duplication within MLL exon 3 was detected in another patient with 11qUPD. We identified several common deleted regions (CDR) on chromosome 11. One of the CDRs associated with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (P=0.013). One patient with a deletion at the LMO2 locus harbored an additional point mutation on the other allele indicating that LMO2 might be a tumor suppressor frequently targeted by 11p deletions. Our chromosome-centered analysis indicates that chromosome 11 contains a number of tumor suppressor genes and that the role of this chromosome in myeloid malignancies is more complex than previously recognized

Preliminary view on owner’s and manager’s approach to valuation

There is a strong pressure from investors to report accounting items using fair value concept upon economic boom. The financial crisis period may raise an issue of revival of conservative concepts in financial reporting, e.g. historical costs measurement and application of prudence principle. Conceptual solution of valuation issues need not to come out from current economic situation and it is impossible to change this concept every time when economic conditions tend to change. Unsystematically changes of valuation concepts may conduce to instability of economic system. Research comes out from the analysis of benefits and risks of variant measurement bases upon various periods of economic cycle. There will be examined the applicability of these measurement bases upon the period of economic boom as well as upon financial crisis. Measurement bases will be evaluated from the aspect of information needs of investors, owners and managers. Study therefore pays attention to the interaction of financial and managerial accounting in valuation issues.valuation; owner; manager; financial accounting; managerial accounting

Improved minimal residual disease detection by targeted quantitative polymerase chain reaction in Nucleophosmin 1 type a mutated acute myeloid leukemia

Multicolor flow cytometry (MFC) and real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) are important independent techniques to determine minimal residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). MFC is the standard method, but may be unreliable. Therefore, MFC-based determination of MRD with an RQ-PCR-based approach targeting the nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) type A mutation was set out to compare. Since most current NPM1 RQ-PCR MRD protocols suffer from clear definitions of quantifiability, we sought to define quantifiability in a reproducible and standardized manner. The limit of quantifiability of our RQ-PCR protocol for the NPM1 type A mutation varied between 0.002% and 0.04% residual leukemic cells depending on the features of the standard curve for each PCR experiment. The limit of detection was close to 0.001% leukemic cells. The limit of detection by MFC ranged from 0.01% to 1% depending on the phenotype of the leukemic cells as compared with non-leukemic bone marrow cells. Forty-five MRD samples from 15 patients using both NPM1 mutation specific RQ-PCR and MFC were analyzed. In 32 of the 45 samples (71%), an MRD-signal could be detected with RQ-PCR. A quantifiable NPM1 mutation signal was found in 15 samples (33%) (range 0.003%–2.6% leukemic cells). By contrast, only two follow-up samples (4%) showed residual leukemic cells (0.04% and 0.3%, respectively) by MFC. Thus, RQ-PCR of the NPM1 type A mutation was more sensitive and reliable than MFC for determination of MRD, which might have clinical implications

Mitochondria in White, Brown, and Beige Adipocytes

Mitochondria play a key role in energy metabolism in many tissues, including cardiac and skeletal muscle, brain, liver, and adipose tissue. Three types of adipose depots can be identified in mammals, commonly classified according to their colour appearance: the white (WAT), the brown (BAT), and the beige/brite/brown-like (bAT) adipose tissues. WAT is mainly involved in the storage and mobilization of energy and BAT is predominantly responsible for nonshivering thermogenesis. Recent data suggest that adipocyte mitochondria might play an important role in the development of obesity through defects in mitochondrial lipogenesis and lipolysis, regulation of adipocyte differentiation, apoptosis, production of oxygen radicals, efficiency of oxidative phosphorylation, and regulation of conversion of white adipocytes into brown-like adipocytes. This review summarizes the main characteristics of each adipose tissue subtype and describes morphological and functional modifications focusing on mitochondria and their activity in healthy and unhealthy adipocytes

Real-Time PCR Diagnostics Failure Caused by Nucleotide Variability within Exon 4 of the Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate-Early Gene

Here we report how variability in the human cytomegalovirus genome sequence may seriously affect the outcome of its molecular diagnosis. A real-time quantitative PCR assay targeting the major immediate-early gene failed to detect the viral load in some, but not all, clinical samples from hematooncological patients. By amplification and sequencing the DNA across the regions targeted by this assay we found a number of nucleotide substitutions which accounted for decreased primer/probe binding. This decreased the sensitivity of the assay up to 1,000-fold

Expression of classical mediators in hearts of rats with hepatic dysfunction

Liver cirrhosis is associated with impairment of cardiovascular function including alterations of the heart innervation, humoral and nervous dysregulation, changes in systemic circulation and electrophysiological abnormalities. Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), enzyme forming acetylcholine, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH), enzymes participating in noradrenaline synthesis, are responsible for the production of classical neurotransmitters and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) is produced by cardiomyocytes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of experimentally induced hepatic dysfunction on the expression of proANP, ChAT, TH and DBH in the heart. Hepatic dysfunction was induced by application of thioacetamide (TAA) or by ligation of bile duct. Biochemical parameters of hepatic injury and levels of peroxidation in the liver and heart were measured. Liver enzymes measured in the plasma were significantly elevated. Cardiac level of peroxidation was increased in operated but not TAA group animals. In the left atrium of operated rats, the expression of TH and DBH was lower, while expression of ChAT remained unchanged. In TAA group, no significant differences in the expression of the genes compared to controls were observed. Liver injury induced by ligation leads to an imbalance in the intracardiac innervation, which might impair nervous control of the heart.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author