Search

Motivation: Fraud is a challenging problem. Its economic effects are clear – worse public services, less financially stable and profitable companies, charities deprived of resources needed for charitable purposes and diminished levels of disposable income of everyone. In every sector globally, fraud has an adverse impact on the quality of life. Fraud threatens the effective and efficient utilization of resources and hence is of great concern to industries, the whole community and academia. Research Question: Does political regime moderate the relationship between financial reporting regime and on fraud? Does the legal system moderate the relationship between financial reporting regime and on fraud? What is the impact of financial reporting regime, legal regime and political regime on fraud at national level? Idea: This study investigates how political, legal and financial reporting impacts on fraud at a country level and whether any triangular effects exist. Data: Country level data published by ACFE, World Fact book, Deloitte IAS Plus Report, IFAC Report and Economic Intelligence Unit Report on Democracy Index for 106 countries for the years 2010 to 2014 was used. Tools: To test study’s hypotheses and to determine the interactive effects of legal regime, political regime and financial reporting regime on fraud, a three-way ANOVA is used. To determine the impact of the independent variables on fraud, pooled regression analysis is used. Findings: The findings provide both theoretical and empirical evidence on the interaction effects of political, legal and financial reporting regimes on fraud. Political and legal regime has a significant interaction with financial reporting on fraud as posited by political accountability theory and legal theory. Even the main effects of each regime separately are statistically significant. Contribution: given the complex nature of frauds, the study is relevant to regulators, practising auditors, legal and political experts and politicians engaged in the debate on frauds and how to address this harmful act at a cross country level. When collusion exists between executive, legislative oversight in a full democratic regime is weakened, impacting the mechanism of fraud minimisation.

Background: With the progressive development of blockchain technology, its potential influence on the accounting and auditing professions is of interest to academia and practitioners. As the technology gains acceptance in businesses such as banking, stock exchanges, insurance, law, government services, and e-voting, business leaders are beginning to recognise its potential to transform their organisations. Despite concerns about how this technology will marginalise the accounting and auditing profession, blockchain continues to lag behind in adoption and there is time for accountants and auditors to reflect on their current practice and update their knowledge and skills to maintain their relevance to the industry. Motivation: The literature has not fully examined the implications of distributed ledger technology and its implications for the accounting and auditing profession. The intent of this research note is to identify opportunities for research that are of significance to the application of distributed ledger technology to accounting and auditing. Research Question: To identify possibilities that exist in researching the adoption, implementation and application of a distributed ledger solution in the context of accounting and auditing. Framework: Based on the literature, the study proposes a framework for a blockchain model of a simplified triple-entry bookkeeping system using smart contracts to automate self-verification and replication of transactions in a public distributed ledger. Findings: Drawing on the framework the article develops a series of research questions that may significantly reduce barriers and challenges facing organizations that want to implement blockchain technology in their accounting systems. Contribution: Given the complex nature of blockchain, cross disciplinary research is proposed to bring together information technology, accounting, assurance, economics and psychology resulting in further understanding of the technology as it relates to, and influences the accounting and auditing profession. In doing so, the paper makes several contributions to the literature.

Research Question: Do modern ERP systems record sufficient information to allow retrospective monitoring of accounts payable transactions? Can Benford’s Law be applied to these transactions to detect potential fraud in accounting data? Motivation: Modern ERP systems are capable of recording several thousands of transactions daily. This makes it difficult to find a few instances of anomalous activities among legitimate transactions. As organizations continue to become more complex and demand more integrated business processes, automated analytics may provide auditors and fraud examiners some degree of assurance on continuous information simultaneously with, or shortly after disclosure of information. Idea: In this study we develop a proof of concept prototype to monitor invoice transactions and identify those that violate Benford’s law. The prototype exploits audit trails in enterprise systems. Data: Data was obtained from the SAP ERP systems of two large organizations. Organization 1, a government department, provided a one month sample of accounting transaction data. Organization 2, a global manufacturing company, provided a six month sample of their transaction data. Tools: Verification and validation was achieved by obtaining independent reviews from an expert and a panel of auditing practitioners. Their feedback was sought using a survey instrument where they rated various aspects of the prototype software. Findings: A key aim was to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing Benford’s analysis in continuous monitoring applications by exploiting audit trails in ERP systems. The concept was demonstrated by designing prototype software. We found that Benford’s analysis, is a useful tool for identifying suspicious transactions. These transactions may contain possible errors, potential fraud or other irregularities. Contribution: An important contribution of the study is that the entire population of transactions for a specified time period are analyzed. This approach is in contrast with the traditional or manual audit approach which is limited because it reviews only a small percentage of a large population of transactions. The prototype demonstrates the application of technology and data analytics to process transaction data from a SAP ERP system in a near real-time basis. This represents the next step in the evolution of the financial audit from manual to automated methods.

Research Question: Organizations increasingly buy standardized continuous auditing solutions from vendors rather than develop their own. What opportunities lie in exploring the adoption, implementation and application of such solutions in the context of internal auditing? Motivation: Extant literature has not fully examined the implications of this development and there are several interesting unexplored research questions in this area. Idea: We develop a framework for examining continuous auditing as an information system solution and link this to internal auditing. Data: We employ existing literature as data and build on similar frameworks from ERP systems and AIS research. Findings: The findings of the paper are a series of research questions for examining this relationship as well as a proposal for using different theoretical perspectives and methodologies. Contribution: The contribution is a new perspective on continuous auditing research that could move this research area forward and link it to current developments in the field.

Electrochemical energy storage is considered a remarkable way to bridge the gap between demand and supply due to intermittent renewable energy production. All-solid-state batteries are an excellent alternative and are known to be the safest class of batteries. In the present scenario to accomplish the energy demands, high-capacity and stable anodes are warranted and can play a vital role in technology upgradation. Among the variety of anodes, alloying-type anodes are superior due to their high gravimetric capacity and stability. In the present work, zinc metal was implemented as electrode material in an all-solid-state lithium-ion battery. This anode material was tested with two different solid-state electrolytes, i.e., lithium borohydride (LiBH4) and halide-stabilized LiBH4 (i.e., LiBH4.LiI). In a coin cell, Li foil was placed as a counter electrode. The establishment of a reaction mechanism during the charging and discharging was obtained through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Systematic studies using the temperature dependence performance were also conducted. The volumetric density with both electrolytes was found at more than 3000 mAh/cm3. The coulombic efficiency for the electrode material was also observed at ~94%. These impressive numbers present zinc electrodes as a promising material for future electrode material for all-solid-state Li-ion batteries.

Gynecomastia is a benign enlargement of the male breast tissue, either due to the proliferation of glandular tissue or deposition of fat in breast tissue, usually caused by imbalance of estrogen and androgen hormones in body. Gynecomastia has a trimodal age distribution and begins as a small lump beneath the nipple which may be tender. Gynecomastia is usually benign but may be a cause of embarrassment for some. Evaluation of gynecomastia is performed with an aim at diagnosing the cause for the same. Individual treatment requirements can range from simple reassurance to medical treatment or even surgery depending on the etiology.

Kinase inhibitors have revolutionized cancer therapy by becoming the first-line agents for advanced solid malignancies replacing the traditional chemotherapeutic agents. Cutaneous side-effects with these drugs are common, but owing to their infrequent use in Indian patients, our current knowledge of toxicity is scanty and primarily based on the western literature. Cutaneous reactions can adversely affect patients′ quality of life (QoL) and can lead to dose modifications and treatment interruptions. The report discusses concurrent hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) and hair depigmentation in an Indian patient being treated with sunitinib for advanced renal cell carcinoma. The pathogenesis and treatment strategies for this characteristic phenomenon and other cutaneous toxicities of kinase inhibitors have also been reviewed.

Fraud is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow annually. Many organisations are poorly prepared to prevent and detect fraud. Fraud detection strategies are intended to quickly and efficiently identify fraudulent activities that circumvent preventative measures. In this paper we adopt a Design-Science methodological framework to develop a model for detection of vendor fraud based on analysis of patterns or signatures identified in enterprise system audit trails. The concept is demonstrated be developing prototype software. Verification of the prototype is achieved by performing a series of experiments. Validation is achieved by independent reviews from auditing practitioners. Key findings of this study are: i) automating routine data analytics improves auditor productivity and reduces time taken to identify potential fraud, and ii)Â visualisations assist in promptly identifying potentially fraudulent user activities. The study makes the following contributions: i)Â a model for proactive fraud detection, ii) methods for visualising user activities in transaction data, iii) a stand-alone MCL-based prototype.

Pachyonychia congenita (PC) is a rare genodermatosis with only 450 cases reported since 1906. It is of two types, type I due to mutation in genes 6a and 16, and 6b and 17 in type II with an autosomal dominant inheritance in both types. A 22 yr old female patient presented in our OPD with hypertrophy of finger and toe nails, palmoplantar keratoderma, oral punctuate leukokeratosis, hyperhidrosis in palms and soles with maceration and malodour since childhood. She had a positive family history with father and grandfather affected but less severely. Microscopy and culture of nail clippings and scrapping were done to rule out fungal infection. On biopsy acanthotic epidermis, parakeratosis, orthokeratosis were seen. No evidence of any associated malignancy was found after thorough workup. She was diagnosed as PC Type 1. She was put on topical steroids and orally on acetretin 25 mg OD. Paring of the nails was done too reduce the thickness of nails & to provide symptomatic relief. She was on a regular treatment for 3-4 months and showed some improvement in the form of reduced palmoplantar hyperkeratosis and reduced oral punctate keratosis but was later lost on followup. She showed no adverse effect to therapy during this period. This case is being reported because of its rarity.

In Monilethrix, the hair shaft is beaded and breaks easily. Elliptical nodes 0.7-1 mm apart, are separated by narrower internodes. Histologically, the follicles show wide and narrow zones corresponding to the nodes and internodes. Clinically, there is a considerable variation in age of onset, severity and course. Follicular keratosis is also seen on occiput and nape of neck. In many cases the condition persists with little change. A lady with her two children came to our OPD with complaint of complete loss of hair of her male child, aged 5 yrs, since birth and complete loss of eyebrows of her female child, aged 6 yrs, with diffuse loss of hair since birth. Their father also had hair loss with similar type of beaded hair. Papular eruptions could be seen all over the scalp and nape of neck. Oral gresiofulvin along with nutritional support was given to the children as treatment and prognosis was explained to the mother.

Thermal switches are typically used to regulate the heat flow between two surfaces. They are broadly categorized as mechanical, gas-gap, superconducting, and magneto-resistive heat switches. Among these, the mechanical heat switches can be used in a wide temperature range of 5–400 K. Based on different actuation methods, the mechanical heat switches can be further subclassified in piezoelectric actuated, paraffin wax, differential thermal expansion, and shape memory alloy type of heat switches. This work presents a broad overview of different kinds of mechanical heat switches and compares their performances as well as physical parameters. The review suggests that differential thermal expansion types can enforce approximately 30 times extra contact force, whereas the shape memory heat switches have the highest switching ratio among the other types of mechanical heat switches. Moreover, the paraffin wax types of heat switches have minimum response time, while the piezo-electric types are relatively poor in performance due to the lesser contact area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: It is difficult to capture the severity of synovial inflammation on imaging. Herein we hypothesize that diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) derived metrics may delineate the aggregation of the inflammatory cells and expression of inflammatory cytokines and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging may provide information regarding vascularity in the inflamed synovium. Patients and methods: Patients with knee arthritis (>3-months duration) underwent conventional (T2-weighted fast spin echo and spin echo T1-weighted images) as well as DTI and DCE MRI and thereafter arthroscopic guided synovial biopsy. DCE and DTI metrics were extracted from the masks of the segments of the inflamed synovium which enhanced on post-contrast T1-weighted MRI. These metrics were correlated with immunohistochemistry (IHC) parameters of inflammation on synovium. Statistical analysis: Pearson's correlation was performed to study the relationship between DTI- and DCE-derived metrics, IHC parameters, and post-contrast signal intensity. Linear regression model was used to predict the values of IHC parameters using various DTI and DCE derived metrics as predictors. Results: There were 80 patients (52 male) with mean age 39.78 years and mean disease duration 19.82 months. Nineteen patients had tuberculosis and the rest had chronic undifferentiated monoarthritis (n = 31), undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy (n = 14), rheumatoid arthritis (n = 6), osteoarthritis (n = 4), reactive arthritis (n = 3), ankylosing spondylitis (n = 2), and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n = 1). Fractional anisotropy (FA), a metric of DTI, had significant correlation with number of immune cells (r = 0.87, p < 0.01) infiltrating into the synovium and cytokines (IL-1β, r = 0.55, p < 0.01; TNF-α, r = 0.42, p < 0.01) in all patients and also in each group of patients and adhesion molecule expressed on these cells in all patients (CD54, r = 0.51, p < 0.01). DCE parameters significantly correlated with CD34 (blood flow, r = 0.78, p < 0.01; blood volume, r = 0.76, p < 0.01) in each group of patients, a marker of neo-angiogenesis. FA was the best predictor of infiltrating inflammatory cells, adhesion molecule and proinflammatory cytokines. Amongst the DCE parameters, blood volume, was best predictor of CD34. Conclusion: DTI and DCE metrics capture cellular and molecular markers of synovial inflammation in patients with chronic inflammatory arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study explores the effect of nanoparticle addition on the overall heat-carrying capacity of base liquid nitrogen in natural convection. Moreover, the work also addresses the nanoparticle sedimentation problem that is prominent in natural convection and proposes subtle modifications in heat source location to avoid sedimentation. For this, a 6 mm superconducting material is immersed in a cooling tub filled with liquid nitrogen. The cooling capacity of cryogenic fluids without boiling is considerably low. Hence, the alumina, silicon oxide, and titania nanoparticles are suspended in the base liquid nitrogen. A computational model, which relies on phase-averaged Eulerian tracking of nanoparticle suspensions, is employed to accurately predict the enhancement in heat transfer characteristics. Furthermore, the study addresses the influence of nanoparticle sedimentation in natural convection and proposes modifications to the cooling domain and superconducting material locations to mitigate sedimentation issues. The findings reveal a remarkable 70% increase in the heat transfer coefficient for 0.5% alumina nanoparticles suspension in the base liquid nitrogen. These results demonstrate the potential for significantly improving heat transfer performance in superconducting systems while minimizing the adverse effects of nanoparticle sedimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the efficacy of metronidazole and collagenase combination in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers with regard to the reduction of slough formation, enhancement of granulation tissue and re-epithelization. Study design: Prospective, comparative study. Place and duration of study: Surgery department of a tertiary care teaching centre of rural Haryana, from January 2011 to February 2013. Methodology: The patients who were admitted for diabetic foot ulcers at Surgery Department of a tertiary care teaching centre during the study period were screened. 42 patients in the test group were treated with topical dressings of collagenase and metronidazole. The control group of 40 patients was treated with conventional topical dressings and bed side debridement. Ulcer's status was noted using visual score. Results: The number of patients with no necrotic tissue was significantly higher in test group at 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th weeks than control group. Granulation tissue was significantly higher in test group at 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th week. The test group patients had a faster wound bed preparation resulting in faster wound cover using secondary suturing, S.S.G., flap cover at the third week itself. Conclusion: Combination of collagenase and metronidazole topical application enhanced wound healing of diabetic foot ulcer as compared to conventional treatment modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  The most common cause of atrophy of mammillary bodies (MBs) is thiamine deficiency, which is very common in patients with alcoholic liver disease. The purpose of this study was to look for changes in MBs using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acute liver failure (ALF), acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and chronic liver failure (CLF) of non-alcoholic etiology. Volumes of MBs and caudate nuclei (CNs) were quantified in nine patients with ALF, 17 with ACLF, 18 with CLF and in 24 healthy controls. Volume of these structures was quantified again three weeks after clinical recovery in five patients with ALF who had survived their illness. Volume of left, right and both MBs was significantly decreased (p  [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N-Salicyloyl-N'-p-hydroxythiobenzohydrazide (H2STPH) and N-benzoyl-N'-thiobenzohydrazide (H2BTBH) and their Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes were prepared and characterized by physicochemical studies. IR and NMR spectral studies imply dibasic tetradentate behaviour of the ligands bonding through `thiolato' sulfur, enolic oxygen and the two hydrazinic nitrogens in a polymeric fashion. The electronic spectra indicate [Ni(STPH)(H2O)2], [Co(STPH)(H2O)2] to be distorted octahedral while [Cu(BTBH)] has a square-planar geometry. In vitro antitumor results of the ligand and the complexes on P-815 (murine mastocytoma) and L-929 (murine fibroblast) indicate that these compounds show significant inhibition of 3H-thymidine and 3H-uridine incorporation in DNA and RNA, respectively, in these tumor cells at dose levels of 1, 2.5 and 5 μg cm−3. Antitumor studies suggest that [Cu(BTBH)] has significant dose dependent inhibitory effect on DNA synthesis. In vivo administration of [Cu(BTBH)] and [Ni(STPH)(H2O)2] resulted into prolongation of life span of Dalton's Lymphoma (DL) bearing mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new ligand N-Nicotinoyl-N'-o-hydroxythiobenzhydrazide (H2Notbh) forms complexes [Mn(Notbh)(H2O)], [M(Notbh)] [M = Ni(II) Cu(II) and Zn(II)] which were characterized by various physico-chemical techniques. All the metal complexes were observed to inhibit the growth of tumor in vitro, whereas, ligand did not. In vivo administration of these complexes resulted in prolongation of survival of tumor bearing mice. Tumor bearing mice administered with metal complexes showed reversal of tumor growth associated induction of apoptosis in lymphocytes. The paper discusses the possible mechanisms and therapeutic implication of the H2Notbh and its metal complexes in tumor regression and tumor growth associated immunosuppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]