Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accounting for intangibles: a literature review

The purpose of Financial Accounting is to provide users of financial statements with information that is useful for efficient decision making. According to the FASB [1978, par. 34], financial reporting should provide information that is useful to present and potential investors and creditors and other users in making rational investment, credit, and similar decisions. Consequently, any event that is likely to affect a firm's current financial position or its future performance should be reported in its annual accounts. In order to provide the users of financial statements with relevant information for investment and credit decision making, standard setting bodies should develop guidelines for the identification of intangible elements, a set of criteria for their valuation and adequate standards for financial reporting. This paper intends to provide a starting point for that endeavor by reviewing the literature published to date in three areas: (i) the economic nature, definition and classification of intangibles, (ii) the relevance of intangibles for investment and lending decisions, and (iii) the ways in which the current accounting model may be modified in order to provide useful information on the determinants of the firms' financial position in their financial statements.
Identification of a Novel Binding Site to the Integrin αIIbβ3 Located in the C-terminal Heparin-binding Domain of Human Plasma Fibronectin*

Fibronectin has been shown to bind to integrin αIIbβ3 in Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD)-dependent and -independent manners. A recent study has indicated that a 29-kDa dispase-digestive fragment from the C-terminal heparin-binding domain of human plasma fibronectin (lacking RGD sequence) inhibits binding of fibronectin to thrombin-stimulated platelets and ADP-induced aggregation (Tanabe, J., Fujita, H., Iwamatsu, A., Mohri, H., and Ohkubo, T. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 27143-27147). We provide here the evidence that a peptide corresponding to residues from Ala1704 to Glu1718 (designated F1) from this fragment inhibited binding of 125I-labeled 29-kDa fragment of fibronectin to thrombin-stimulated platelets and ADP-induced aggregation. The F1 peptide bound directly to αIIbβ3 integrin receptor. These results indicate that a novel binding site in the C-terminal heparin-binding region of fibronectin is localized within the residues from Ala1704 to Glu1718. Binding of 125I-labeled 29-kDa fragment of fibronectin to thrombin-stimulated platelets was not inhibited by RGDS peptide and the 12-residue peptide from the cell-binding domain of fibronectin, suggesting that binding site in the C-terminal heparin-binding domain may be different from those of RGDS and the 12-residue peptide. This additional αIIbβ3-binding domain(s) in fibronectin may also play some role for prevention of thrombus formation by direct interaction with αIIbβ3.
Effect of zinc and magnesium nutrition on yield, quality and removal of nutrients in wheat (Triticum aestivum)

A field experiment was conducted during the winter ( rabi) season of 200810 on alluvial soil of Bichpuri, Agra, to study the effects of Zn (0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10 kg/ha) and magnesium (0, 10, 20 and 40 kg/ha) on wheat [ Triticum aestivum (L.) emend. Fiori & Paol. ] in respect of yield, quality and uptake of nutrients. Application of Zn up to 5 kg/ ha increased the grain and straw yield by 9.7 and 11.5% over the control respectively. Application of 5 kg Zn/ ha also recorded the highest values of net returns ( 70.2 103/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.74). The addition of Mg up to 20 kg/ha enhanced the mean grain (5.11 t/ha) and straw (6.13 t/ha) yield significantly over the control. The highest net returns ( 68.4 103/ha) and benefit: cost ratio (2.70) were recorded at 20 kg Mg/ha. The interaction ef- fect between Zn and Mg significantly and synergistically influenced the yields, being highest at 5 kg Zn in conjunc- tion with 20 kg Mg/ha. The removal of Zn by grain and straw increased from 152.8 to 202.5 and 129.5 to 182.5 g/ ha with the increase in Zn levels. The removal of Mg by grain and straw also increased significantly with the levels of Mg from 11.4 to 15.6 and 7.8 to 12.1 kg/ha respectively. On the other hand, Zn and Mg showed antagonistic ef- fect on their removal by wheat. The removal of N, P and K increased up to 5 kg Zn and 20 kg Mg /ha level. Protein content and yield also increased significantly with the increase of Zn and Mg over the control. The values of effi- ciency indices decreased with increasing levels of Mg and Zn.
Laparoscopic Incisional Hernia Repair in Liver Transplant and Other Immunosuppressed Patients

We report the early results of laparoscopic incisional hernia repair in a small group of immunosuppressed patients and compare these results with a cohort of patients with open repair. We describe a modification used to secure the cephalad portion of the Gore‐Tex® mesh in high epigastric incisional hernias often encountered after liver transplantation. Data were gathered retrospectively for all incisional hernia repairs by our group from March 1996 to January 2001. Twelve of 13 attempted patients had successful completion of their laparoscopic hernia repairs with no reported recurrences to date. Two of these procedures were performed for recurrent hernias. We completed nine of nine attempted laparoscopic hernia repairs in liver transplant patients with epigastric incisional hernias. We repaired two of three attempted lower midline incisional hernias in renal disease patients. One of these patients was soon able to reuse his peritoneal dialysis catheter. A total of 15 patients, 12 with liver transplants, underwent open repair of their incisional hernias. These patients had seven recurrences and/or serious mesh infections with five patients electing repeated operations. In our initial series, laparoscopic mesh repair of incisional hernias is practical and safe in the abdominal organ transplant population with a low incidence of early recurrence and serious infections.
Investigation of Effect of Fiber Orientation on Mechanical Behavior of Skeletal Muscle

Background Existing studies have included little discussion of anisotropic and material non linearity of muscle tissue, and fiber orientation–based material properties of skeletal muscle tissue are not reported well in literature. There has been some dispute about material response of muscle in different fiber directions. It is necessary to have a better understanding of fiber orientation based material properties of skeletal muscle, to ensure the accuracy of computational models of muscle. To this end, the aim of this study was to investigate fiber orientation–based material properties in vitro and simulate them with finite element analysis (FEA). Methods Tensile testing was performed on 5 samples of skeletal muscle from a goat at a strain rate of 0.15 s−1 with fiber orientation along the length (P) and 45° incline to the fiber direction (I). FEA was completed using the experimental condition to validate the results of the in vitro test. The cross-fiber direction was simulated using FEA. Results The stresses for all fiber directions at maximum stretch were 1,973.2 kPa for fiber direction P, 1,172 kPa for direction I and 430 kPa for the cross-fiber direction. The tensile strengths of the skeletal muscle were 0.44 MPa for P and 0.234 MPa for I. The elastic modulus of muscle tissue in all fiber directions was 1.59 MPa for fiber direction P (Ep), 0.621 MPa for 45° direction I (EI) and 0.43 MPa for the cross-fiber direction (Ec). The displacement of the muscle sample against the maximum load was small along the fiber direction. The results of the present study showed that muscle tissue was stiffer in the fiber direction than in the cross-fiber direction. Conclusions The stiffness of skeletal muscle is changed as the fiber orientation of skeletal muscle tissue changed.
New Perspectives for Magnetic Fluid-Based Devices Using Novel Ionic Liquids as Carriers

© 2012 Lopez-Lopez et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. New Perspectives for Magnetic Fluid-Based Devices Using Novel Ionic Liquids as Carriers
CD73 Expression on Mesenchymal Stem Cells Dictates the Reparative Properties via Its Anti-Inflammatory Activity

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are not universal and may be subject to dynamic changes upon local milieus in vivo and after isolation and cultivation in vitro. Here, we demonstrate that MSC derived from murine pericardial adipose tissue (pMSC) constitute two cohorts of population distinguished by the level of CD73 expression (termed as CD73high and CD73low pMSC). Transplantation of two types of cells into mouse hearts after myocardial infarction (MI) revealed that the CD73high pMSC preferentially brought about structural and functional repair in comparison to the PBS control and CD73low pMSC. Furthermore, the CD73high pMSC displayed a pronounced anti-inflammatory activity by attenuating CCR2+ macrophage infiltration and upregulating several anti-inflammatory genes 5 days after in vivo transplantation and ex vivo cocultivation with peritoneal macrophages. The immunomodulatory effect was not seen in cocultivation experiments with pMSC derived from CD73 knockout mice (CD73−/−) but was partially blocked by pretreatment of the A2b receptor antagonist, PSB603. The results highlight a heterogeneity of the CD73 expression that may be related to its catalytic products on the modulation of the local immune response and thus provide a possible explanation to the inconsistency of the regenerative results when different sources of donor cells were used in stem cell-based therapy.
Herd-level prevalence of Mycoplasma spp mastitis and characteristics of infected dairy herds in Utah as determined by a statewide survey.

OBJECTIVE To determine herd-level prevalence of Mycoplasma spp mastitis in Utah dairy herds and characterize farms and management practices for positive herds. DESIGN Epidemiologic study. SAMPLE POPULATION Bulk tank milk samples from 222 of 285 (78%) dairy farms in Utah. PROCEDURES Milk haulers or dairy producers collected 5 milk samples from all bulk tanks at 3- to 4-day intervals for mycoplasmal culture. Owners of all positive herds were offered follow-up visits. RESULTS Milk samples from 16 of 222 (7%) herds had positive mycoplasmal culture results. Follow-up information was obtained from 14 of 16 herds; 12 provided complete data. Some characteristics of mycoplasma-positive herds included the following: 8 of 14 herds had > 750 lactating cows, 9 of 11 had bulk tank milk somatic cell count of 140,000 to 240,000 cells/mL, 7 of 11 had actual milk production of 9,535 to 11,622 kg (21,000 to 25,600 lb)/305 d, 11 of 12 had cows with clinical mastitis that was nonresponsive to treatment and involved >or= 2 mammary gland quarters, 9 of 12 had cows with clinical mastitis that spread from 1 mammary gland quarter to another, 8 of 12 had cows with droopy ears, 7 of 12 had cows with a head tilt, 7 of 12 used common milking towels, 2 of 12 were closed to replacement cattle for > 1 year, and 2 of 12 purchased bulls only. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Herd-level prevalence of mycoplasma mastitis in Utah was relatively high, compared with other areas of the United States.
Feeding patch selection by herbivorous Anatidae: the influence of body size, and of plant quantity and quality

Recent findings suggest that herbivores select feeding sites of intermediate biomass in order to maximise their digestible nutrient intake as the result of the trade-off between forage quality and quantity (‘forage maturation hypothesis'). We propose a reformulation of this hypothesis which recognises this trade-off, but also underlines that constraints due to body mass (i.e. metabolism and digestive constraints, size of the feeding apparatus) can lead to variations in grazing patterns. We tested this latter hypothesis experimentally in three species of herbivorous Anatidae of different body mass: the wigeon Anas penelope (in our study c. 620 g), the barnacle goose Branta leucopsis (c. 2000 g), and the greylag goose Anser anser (c. 3500 g). Each species was tested separately from 0600 to 0930 hours, in an enclosure with a mosaic of patches of grass of three different heights: short, medium and tall. The behaviour, and the location (i.e. patch) of each individual were recorded every 5 minutes. Our results show important interspecific differences in intake rates resulting in different feeding site selection: wigeon and barnacle goose fed fastest on the shortest swards, and selected short grass which was also of higher quality. Tall grass provided the highest dry matter intake rate and digestible protein intake for greylag geese, and they preferred these swards. These choices allowed the birds to maximise their digestible nitrogen intake rate rather than dry matter intake rate and our results thus underline the importance of nitrogen as a major currency for foraging decisions in herbivorous Anatidae. Since the birds selected the two extreme sward heights (instead of the medium one), the results give support to our hypothesis and underline the role of body size as an important cause of variations in patch selection in herbivorous Anatidae.
Suppression of active but not passive autoimmune encephalomyelitis by dual cyclo‐oxygenase and 5‐lipoxygenase inhibition

Previous research has shown that the dual cyclo‐oxygenase and 5‐lipoxygenase inhibitor, BW755c suppresses experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). In the present study, the effects of BW755c on both actively and passively induced EAE in the Lewis rat were examined, and also its effect on the accumulation of radiolabeled spleen cells in response to direct injection of tumor necrosis factor into the spinal cord. It was found that BW755c suppressed actively induced EAE but not passively induced EAE nor cytokine‐induced cell accumulation in the central nervous system. It is concluded that arachidonic acid metabolites may be important in the induction phase of EAE, but do not appear to be crucial to the effector phase of EAE.
Exposing the Distributions and Elemental Associations of Scavenged Particulate Phases in the Ocean Using Basin‐Scale Multi‐Element Data Sets

The GEOTRACES program has greatly increased basin‐scale concentration measurements for a large number of elements in the ocean, both constraining external sources and internal sinks and exposing complex internal cycles of trace elements. Our conceptual frameworks for marine trace element cycling, however, often remain simplified as the production and remineralization of phytoplankton biomass. Despite their complexity, or perhaps because of it, trace element cycles are often predominantly considered as an extension of traditional Redfield macronutrient ratios to C or P. Here we utilize extensive data sets of particulate trace element concentrations from GEOTRACES section cruises in the South Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans to look for evidence of the internal cycles of multiple trace elements without requiring normalization to phytoplankton biomass. Using both traditional and expanded power law regression analyses and multi‐element factor analysis, we expose the internal distributions of six authigenic, biogenic, and lithogenic particulate phases and their multi‐element associations. Critically, no particulate trace element is observed to behave identically to P. Observations include a scavenged Fe phase with a slight surface maximum, which increases linearly with depth below ~ 300 m and which appears to co‐scavenge Cu, V, and La. Particulate Co is found to be associated with phytoplankton, Mn‐biooxides just below the mixed layer, and with a putative heterotrophic phase observed in the surface and at depth. We present an expanded conceptual framework for particulate trace element cycling that has explicit roles for these multiple particulate phases.
Labour, Profit and Housing Rent Shares in Italian GDP: Long-Run Trends and Recent Patterns

The share of labour increased in the first half of the 1970s, declined slowly to its 1960s level in 2001, and since then has been rising. Between 1975 and 2001, the decline in the labour share was due in part to the recovery in profits, and in part to a steady increase in housing rents on GDP, to 13% of value added (5% in 1975) and almost 40% of capital income (20% in the mid-1970s). Net of housing rents, the share of profits fell to a historical low during the great recession. In the business sector net of housing, recovery of the labour share, magnified by the recent recession, was evident in manufacturing and industries other than regulated sectors (energy, transport, communications and finance), where privatizations and changes to regulation provoked a marked drop in the labour share in the late 1990s. I tentatively explain the trend reversal in the labour share, which started well before the onset of the crises, as due to a compression in the mark-ups on marginal costs and the difficulty experienced by Italian firms to be rewarded for their innovation efforts (product quality upgrading)in a more competitive environment.
Clues for the development of food-based dietary guidelines: how are dietary targets being achieved by UK consumers?

Expert scientific advice to the UK Government has been translated into eight general dietary guidelines, which form the core of population-based dietary advice in the UK and are supplemented by a food selection guide showing the types and proportions of foods needed for a balanced and healthy diet. Data from the Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults were used to identify statistically significant differences between subgroups of the study population that met, or failed to meet, population nutritional goals for intakes of total fat, saturated fat and dietary fibre. Several eating habits — including greater consumption of starchy foods (particularly wholemeal varieties), greater consumption of fruit and the substitution of reduced-fat milk for whole-fat milk — were shared by the subgroups that met each of the nutritional goals. This analysis provides clues for any future refinement of food-based dietary guidelines.
Hallyu Revisited: Challenges and Opportunities for the South Korean Tourism

The tourism industry in South Korea has undergone unprecedented growth and faced multiple changes since 2000, thanks to the recent emergence and growing popularity and influence of the Hallyu phenomenon. Although an earlier research paper in Tourism Geographies in 2009 provided insights into the relationship between the Hallyu and patterns of inbound tourism, little scholarly effort has been made to investigate how the Korean tourism industry has evolved in response to the challenges and opportunities generated by the Hallyu. The findings suggest that until recently, the government did not have a comprehensive mid- and long-term tourism policy dedicated to the Hallyu and its impacts on tourism. Diversified trends and patterns of Hallyu-related tourism, a paucity of longitudinal approaches to market segmentation research and long-term trend analyses, and a lack of coordination between the Korean government and key tourism agencies have been also identified as key issues and challenges.
Activity of Angiotensin‐Converting Enzyme After Treatment with L‐Arginine in Renovascular Hypertension

The renin‐angiotensin system plays a role in the pathophysiology of renovascular hypertension. In addition, some studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of L‐arginine (L‐Arg), the precursor of nitric oxide (NO), in this model of hypertension. This study was designed to investigate the effects of L‐Arg on cardiovascular parameters and on the activity of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE), after 14 days of renovascular hypertension. The experiments were performed on conscious male Wistar rats. Two‐kidney, one‐clip renovascular hypertension (2K1C) was initiated in rats by clipping the left renal artery during 14 days, while control rats were sham‐operated. One group was submitted to a similar procedure and treated with L‐Arg (10 mg/ml; average intake of 300mg/day) from the 7th to the 14th day after surgery, whereas the respective control group received water instead. At the end of the treatment period, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured in conscious animals. The rats were sacrificed and the ACE activity was assayed in heart and kidneys, using Hip‐His‐Leu as substrate. In a separate group, the heart was removed, the left ventricle (LV) was weighed and the LV/body weight ratios (LV/BW) were determined. We observed significant differences in MAP between the L‐Arg‐treated and untreated groups (129 ± 7 vs. 168 ± 6 mmHg; P < 0.01). The cardiac hypertrophy described for this model of hypertension was attenuated in the 2K1C‐L‐Arg‐treated group (14th day, wet LV/BW: 2K1C‐L‐Arg = 1.88 ± 0.1; 2K1C = 2.20 ± 0.1 mg/g; P < 0.05). L‐Arg administration caused an important decrease in cardiac ACE activity (2K1C‐L‐Arg: 118 ± 15; 2K1C: 266 ± 34 µmol/min/mg; P < 0.01). L‐Arg also decreased the ACE activity in the clipped kidney by 47% (P < 0.01), but not in the nonclipped kidney. These data suggest that increased NO formation and reduced angiotensin II formation are involved in the anthihypertensive effect of orally administered L‐arginine.
Genotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium in the CEPH human diversity panel for variants in folate pathway genes MTHFR, MTHFD, MTRR, RFC1, and GCP2.

BACKGROUND Genetic variation in enzymes involved in vitamin metabolism is a candidate for analysis in studies of how nutritional covariates may impact a disease state. The role of folate pathway genes in birth defects and cardiovascular disease in humans has been widely studied. Since incidence rates for these disorders vary by geographic origins, it is useful to know which variants are the best candidates for studies based on genotype and allele frequency, as well as linkage disequilibrium (LD) in founder populations. METHODS Six polymorphisms in five folate metabolism-related genes (MTHFR, MTHFD, MTRR, GCP2, and RFC1) were genotyped on a collection of 1064 DNA samples from populations around the world, which were made available by the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH) consortium for analysis. RESULTS In this study we report the genotype frequencies for variants in the MTHFR, MTHFD, MTRR, GCP2, and RFC1 genes, and the LD for two variants (C677T and A1298C) in MTHFR. CONCLUSIONS The rare allele frequency for each of the five genes studied varied widely. LD is strongest in Pakistani and Brazilian populations (D' = 1.0) and weakest in Mexican populations (D' = 0.45). These findings will allow the selection of variants that will provide the most power in studies of folate pathway genes involving different ancestral populations, and contribute to our knowledge of the population distribution of selected nutritional gene variants.