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The application of Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) technique is increasing in geotechnical engineering to characterize near surface materials. The dispersion property of Rayleigh wave is utilized in MASW method. MASW often suffers from near-field effects which may result in either underestimation or overestimation of Rayleigh wave phase velocity due to the body waves contamination near to the source. In this paper, a detailed numerical study has been carried out to examine the near-field effects considering three different types of typical S-wave velocity models with four different impedance scenarios in each case. The study shows that the impedance contrast between the half-space and overlying soil layer is having a considerable effect on the underestimation of phase velocity. These near-field effects are also found to be influenced by the type of the S-wave velocity model as well as far and near offset distances. With the increase of impedance contrast, the level of underestimation seems to increase at lower normalized array centre distance due to mode jump. However, such jump can not be observed with limited far offset distances generally used in usual practice due to poor resolution in the dispersion spectra. Significant near-field effect are observed for lower far offset distances and inversely dispersive S-wave velocity models. Underestimation of Rayleigh wave phase velocity is quantified in terms of two normalized parameters. Finally, a field study is also conducted to verify our numerical findings.

Model tests and the corresponding three dimensional FE analyses using PLAXIS 3D have been carried out to study the behavior of a single pile under combined action of lateral loading and uplift. Cast-iron model piles of 25 mm diameter and slenderness ratios (L/d) of 20, 25, and 30 have been chosen for the study. The variation of ultimate lateral load with pile head deflection with and without different values of uplift load has been obtained to examine the effect of relative density (R.D) of sand, and L/d ratio of pile on the ultimate pile capacity in both homogeneous and layered deposits of sand. Results indicate that the load–deflection behavior is nonlinear for independent lateral and uplift load, as well as in case of combined loading. It has been also found that independent lateral and uplift capacities of piles obtained from numerical analysis agree well with available theoretical and experimental results for the respective cases. Also, under combined action of lateral load and uplift, increase in lateral load capacity has been found to occur with increase in uplift load for a given L/d ratio, both in homogeneous and layered soil. It has also been observed that for any given L/d ratio, the ultimate lateral capacity decreases for a particular uplift in case of layered deposits when the thickness of topsoil layer (of lower R.D) increases.

Analysis of stability of a slope becomes important to predict the failure of a natural or manmade slope. Among several factors which trigger failure of a slope, earthquake in presence of groundwater may be quite significant. This paper studies the failure of embankment slopes under different seismic conditions with variable groundwater levels. Three embankments of different heights have been considered and their analyses have been performed by varying slope angle, embankment soil properties, and groundwater levels. The current study contains probabilistic approach of slope stability by assigning an uncertainty range of density and shear strength parameters of embankment soil. Thus the current study considers input variables like height and angle of slope along with three soil properties: bulk density, cohesion, and angle of internal friction of embankment soil. In each case three groundwater levels have been considered. Out of all these variables 50 numbers of random variables for each of bulk density, cohesion, and angle of internal friction of embankment soil have been generated within some specified uncertainty bound with the help of Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, results have been presented in the form of variation of factor of safety with slope geometry and seismic intensity levels for different positions of groundwater levels. The study finds different slope geometry and seismic conditions along with variable groundwater levels affecting the outcome of slope stability analysis quite substantially.

Quality control of audit procedure has become extremely important in today’s corporate environment in the backdrop of accounting irregularities and audit failures leading to corporate demise. Accounting firms control the quality of audit procedure with the help of the quality control standard (QCS) and specific auditing standard. These standards provide reasonable assurance of compliance with applicable regulation and issuance of the appropriate report by the engagement team. After discussing the international scenario of quality control framework, in this study a comparative analysis of quality control policies and procedures at firm and engagement in three select countries has been presented. The countries selected are the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK) and India. The study finds that the QCS and the auditing standard in all three countries are designed in line with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Quality Control (ISQC)-1. Naturally, quality control policies and procedures in three countries are comparable barring few minor differences. Based on these differences, it can be concluded that the quality control framework in the UK and India is more stringent as compared to the USA.

Antibiotic resistance has led to the search for more effective antimicrobial agents among plant materials that can serve as source and template for the synthesis of new antimicrobial drugs. The current study aims to analyses the oil, extracted from the leaves of Crotalaria pallida for its physicochemical and antimicrobial properties. Leaf oil was extracted by petroleum ether (40–60 °C) and its fatty acid constituents were isolated as a mixture after saponification. Mixture of fatty acid was purified by TLC and characterized by IR, GC and GC–MS analysis by converting them into their FAME. MIC of the oil against the Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria was determined by agar diffusion method. Nineteen fatty acids were identified by gas-liquid chromatography followed by GC–MS. It was found that unsaturated fatty acids were present in greater amounts than saturated fatty acids. Most predominating unsaturated and saturated fatty acids were linolenic acid (34.06 ± 0.23%) and palmitic acid (24.47 ± 0.22%) respectively. The acid value (19.63 ± 0.22) and saponification value (109.08 ± 2.87) were also estimated to evaluate the quality of the oil. The oil showed good antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis as well as Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter junii.

The article studies the propagation of dispersion uncertainty in Vs profiles to VS,30 and linear soil amplification, and at the same time, it also attempts to infer some insights on how the inversion non-uniqueness plays a role in the extracted Vs profiles and subsequent analyses. Three synthetic and two field studies have been presented for this purpose. Target dispersion curve has been assigned with an uncertainty estimate and inversion has been performed using Neighbourhood algorithm. Profiles have been selected from different misfit ranges and combined into one in order to map dispersion misfit with VS-misfit, VS,30 and peak soil amplification. The term VS-misfit has been introduced for synthetic cases to represent the deviation of an extracted VS profile after inversion from the true solution using a single value. The results clearly depict that the range of variation of VS-misfit, VS,30 and peak amplification increases as the dispersion misfit increases. This implies that if the minimum misfit achieved during inversion is higher, the inversion non-uniqueness might play a bigger role in the subsequent analyses. As the dispersion misfit increases, more number of solutions are found to exist at very similar misfit values and the non-uniqueness of inversion manifests more noticeably in the subsequent analyses. Standard deviation is found to increase with the increase in misfit ranges. In terms of COV, VS-misfit exhibits the highest variation, whereas the variations get reduced in VS,30 and in peak amplification.

Objectives This study was conducted to isolate, screening and purification of cellulase from bacteria present in sugar industry waste (molasses) and characterization by morphological and biochemical analysis. Results Based on experiments, three bacterial strains produced clear transparent zone into carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar plate were identified as cellulase producing bacteria. Different culture parameters such as pH, temperature, incubation period, substrate concentration and carbon sources were optimized for enzyme production. According to the morphological and biochemical tests, the isolated strains were identified as Paenibacillus sp., Bacillus sp. and Aeromonas sp. The first strain Paenibacillus sp. showed high potentiality for maximum cellulase production (0.9 µmol ml−1 min−1) at pH 7.0 after 24 h of incubation at 40 °C in a medium containing 1.0% CMC. Then Paenibacillus sp. was selected for enzyme purification by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose and CM-cellulose column chromatography, respectively. In last step of purification, specific activity, recovery and purification fold were 2655 U/mg, 35.7% and 9.7, respectively. The molecular weight of the purified cellulase was found to be 67 kDa by SDS-PAGE, had an optimal pH and temperature at 7.0 and 40 °C. According to substrate specificity, the purified cellulase had high specificity on CMC substrate which indicated it to be an endo-β-1,4-glucanase. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3558-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This study considers three highly recognised corporate scandals that occurred in three diverse continents during different time periods. These are Enron Corporation (United States of America [USA], 2001], Polly Peck International (PPI) (United Kingdom [UK],1990] and Satyam Computer Services Ltd (India, 2009). Arthur Anderson LLP (USA), Stoy Hayward (UK) and Price Waterhouse (India) performed as statutory auditors in these three companies respectively. This study analyses statutory auditors' independence in these select cases based on nine parameters. Investigated facts on these parameters are compared with current regulatory requirements in order to explore the deviation for the case indicating the extent to which statutory auditors' independence was lost in each scandal. The study finds that statutory auditors in all three cases had enough reasons to compromise their independence. Their activities against most of the parameters were not in compliance with current regulatory requirements. Appointment procedure of statutory auditors, provision of non-audit services and remuneration arrangement threatened statutory auditors' independence in all three scandals. Safeguards available in the form of audit committee, external review and disciplinary framework were also not adequate. It ultimately caused statutory auditors in all three companies to compromise their independence.

This chapter identifies and discusses certain issues influencing statutory auditor independence in corporate accounting scandals based on a review of literature and legal case judgments. The opinions of informed and experienced respondents have been collected through a structured questionnaire and statistically analysed. The methodology is outlined in this chapter. It is observed that different categories of respondent have expressed concern and identified issues that erode statutory auditor independence. Such issues include laxity in the present regulatory environment, an unholy nexus created between statutory auditor and company management in the course of engagement, the process of appointing statutory auditors, uncontrolled remuneration and provisions of non-audit services to the audit client. However, there is wide disagreement on these identified factors among respondents from different occupational backgrounds. Based on their opinions on identified factors, two groups of respondents emerge: a smaller group comprising professional accountants believe that statutory auditor independence is mainly governed by internal environment and audit procedure, and a larger group comprising academics, students, corporate personnel and investors who sees the external environment as having considerable influence on the accountability of statutory auditors. The observations of these two distinct groups represent two completely different dimensions of factors that influence statutory auditor independence.

In this chapter, an attempt has been made to critically review statutory auditor independence in five high profile accounting scandals selected from each of the five select countries and to conduct a comparative analysis of them. The five scandals occurred at Enron, Polly Peck International, Satyam, Zhengzhou Baiwen and ComRoad AG. The analysis shows that a lack of professional scepticism of statutory auditors is a major sign of impaired independence in a corporate failure. Fundamental issues governing audit procedure, such as appointment, remuneration, non-audit services, tenure, the role of the audit committee, the role of audit inspection mechanisms and the disciplinary framework have always played a significant role in controlling statutory auditor independence in each of those corporate accounting scandals. Hence, every time a scandal occurred, these fundamental issues were revisited by the regulatory authorities.

Surface wave methods which utilize the dispersion property of Rayleigh waves are widely used for subsurface site characterization. As a non-invasive method of site characterization, it has many advantages over the invasive methods of geotechnical site characterization. Surface wave methods determine the small strain shear modulus of near-surface materials, and this shear modulus is the key input in the evaluation of the soil response under dynamic/seismic loading. So, the accuracy of testing is very important, otherwise it may lead to significant consequences on the seismic hazard studies. There are different uncertainties associated with surface wave methods. These uncertainties can be broadly classified into three categories: Model-based uncertainty, Data measurement uncertainty, and Inversion uncertainty. Model-based uncertainty basically contains the near-field effects which lead to the underestimation of Rayleigh wave phase velocity. Data measurement uncertainty is another major source of uncertainty, which arises while conducting the surface wave tests due to the noise present in the surroundings in the form of continuous or transient signals. Noise results in a scatter in the measured dispersion curve and this scatter in the dispersion curve may provide different velocity profiles, which are falling in the range of measured data variation. Inversion uncertainty deals with non-unique solution of inversion. Non-unique solution may results into several equivalent velocity profiles, with a good fit with the experimental dispersion curve. Now, the consequence of this data measurement and inversion uncertainty may show significant variation on ground response analysis.

This chapter presents an empirical study on opinions of respondents including chartered accountants (CAs) and students pursuing chartered accountancy courses on select issues (in the form of statements in a structured questionnaire) relating to the quality control procedures for statutory financial audits and draws some conclusions on this theme. The research reveals that there are 21 factors governing the quality control procedures for statutory financial audit. Of these factors, a ‘nexus with management and negligence in duty’, ‘professional scepticism and physical inspection’, ‘role of accounting firm in designing quality control procedures’ and ‘engagement quality control review’ have significant influence. The theme as a whole is organized into two distinct dimensions: (a) ‘input factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’, (b) ‘process factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’. While the majority of the CAs consulted in the survey associate with ‘process factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’, most students identify more closely with the ‘input factors to quality control procedures of audit in ensuring audit quality’.

The concluding chapter presents a summary of findings of previous chapters followed by suggestions based on current research. Finally, proposals for further research are identified. The chapter reveals that Indian regulators of the accounting and auditing profession have already taken significant steps to improve statutory auditor independence through regulatory reforms, improving ethical responsibilities and modifying quality control procedures. However, gaps and inconsistencies remain. The importance of strict disciplinary actions to ensure regulatory compliance by statutory auditors cannot be ignored, and while new measures may actually instigate for the auditor independence of appearance, this is only one half of picture. Achieving independence of mind in auditors is only possible through nurturing their inner value sense. The sustained efforts of professional institutes and industry bodies to bring ethics into accounting education, increase awareness, orientation and training and introduce recognition schemes to reward good ethical practice might be successful in making statutory auditors more ethically conscious and in touch with their inner value sense. This book recognizes that what is required is both these dimensions. It is only with both regulatory compliance and a real inner value sense that statutory auditors will be able to protect their independence and in turn safeguard stakeholder interests in the future.

This chapter presents a conceptual discussion of the ‘Ethical Responsibility of Statutory Auditors in the Backdrop of Corporate Accounting Scandals’. Respondents to the fieldwork discussed in Chap. 4 identified a number of key variables that impact on the ethical responsibility of statutory auditors. In this chapter, their opinions on those variables are analysed in order to draw some salient conclusions on this particular theme. Five major factors are identified which play an important role in impacting the ethical responsibility of statutory auditors, of which the ‘regulatory framework and recent events’ is believed to be the most significant. The theme of ethical responsibility is represented by four key distinct dimensions: (a) existing regulation and its inherent limitations, (b) behavioural improvements, (c) global and social approach, (d) education and training in ethics. In this chapter, the opinions of different occupational categories are critically evaluated. While professional accountants (chartered accountants and cost and management accounts) tend to place emphasis on ‘Practical Approaches of Education on Ethics to Professionals’, respondents from the academic fraternity, whether students or academics, give maximum importance to ‘Increasing focus on Ethics in Education’. Investors, who are the major impacted party of statutory auditors’ lack of ethical responsibility, emphasize punitive action and the inner values of statutory auditors. Corporate executives, finally, see the key governing factor of ethical responsibility as the regulatory framework and recent events.

In this chapter, the main objective is to conceptually review the regulatory framework for statutory auditors in select countries that make a significant contribution to world GDP. The focus is on the requirement that these auditors be independent. The countries selected are the USA, the UK, China, India and Germany. A comparative study of their regulatory structures is made based on certain parameters. In each of these countries, the regulatory structure is monitored by central government, professional institutes, financial market regulators and, in some cases, a separate audit regulator. These regulatory bodies issue pronouncements in the form of company law, professional regulation, codes of ethics, and auditing and quality control standards which establish the basic guidelines within which a statutory auditor must operate. In all of these regulations, the independence of statutory auditors is predominant. The enforcement of existing regulation is made through continuous inspections or prompt disciplinary action.

General orthogonal regression (GOR) is a superior regression procedure for conversion of different magnitude types into preferred ones. It yields a linear relation between dependent (Y-t) and independent variable (X-t) based on observed data (X-obs, Y-obs). Recent investigations have shown that the conventional GOR procedure for obtaining Y-t by substituting X-obs in the GOR relation is incorrect, because the error in X-obs introduces some bias in Y-t. One way to reduce this bias in the Y-t estimate is to use X-t (instead of X-obs) given by a standard linear regression (SLR) relation between X-t and X-obs. However, this approach does not have ease of application and does not permit statistical verification. Therefore, we propose a modified procedure in which the derived GOR relationship is used to develop a SLR relation directly between Y-t and X-obs to estimate Y, for a given X-obs, thereby eliminating the need to estimate and substitute X-t. We verify the supremacy of the proposed GOR procedure over the conventional procedure (X-t replaced by X-obs) and the SLR procedure by using observed and synthetic datasets. We observe that the proposed GOR procedure provides an improved estimate of Y-t compared with both the conventional GOR and SLR. The proposed GOR provides lower errors in slope and intercept compared with SLR and yields improved correlation coefficient (R-xy) and standard error values as compared with the other two approaches. The newly developed GOR procedure with eta = 1 provides the highest accuracy in Y-t estimates as compared with the SLR and conventional GOR approaches. Our analysis also concludes that incorrect application of regression procedure can introduce a bias in the Gutenberg-Richter parameter b in the 5%-42% range. Therefore, we recommend the use of the proposed GOR to develop regression relations for earthquake magnitude conversions.

Pettiti et al. (2014) commented on our study on the effect of surface wave inversion non-uniqueness on 1D seismic ground response analysis. They showed in their analyses that non-uniqueness has negligible effect on Fourier amplification and response spectra, which is in disagreement to our earlier observations (Roy et al. in Nat Hazards 68:1141–1153, 2013). The apparent discrepancies are due to the differences in the definition of problem used in the ground response analyses. Pettiti et al. (2014) extended our original profiles to a depth of 60 m and then assumed the presence of high-impedance layer of velocity 1,240 m/s, irrespective of the half-space velocity obtained from the surface wave inversion. This resulted in similar kind of responses of all the profiles in spite of the differences in their shear wave velocity and thickness variations. Otherwise, the observations made by Roy et al. (Nat Hazards 68:1141–1153, 2013) confirm findings of previous studies on the same topic (e.g., Boaga et al. in J Geophys Eng 8:162–174, 2011).

The extent of data uncertainty of surface-wave measurements may have significant consequences on 1D seismic response analysis and it may lead to inaccurate estimate of design ground motion. In this paper, an attempt has been made to quantify the data measurement uncertainty from a large repetition of the field data at two test sites and to determine bounds of data uncertainty. In the inversion with neighborhood algorithm, we generated profiles below the misfit value calculated from the uncertainty bound. Equivalent profiles have been selected covering the whole misfit value range and these profiles are subjected to equivalent linear 1D ground response analysis. The results of seismic response analysis are presented in the form of amplification spectra and response spectra which show remarkable variations. Significant variation is observed in peak frequency and peak amplification and it differs from one site to the other based on their measured data uncertainty bound. Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) and peak spectral acceleration at both the sites reflect very high Coefficient of Variation (COV).

AIM: It was thought previously that morbidity and mortality are directly related to both Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure. However evidences from different studies suggest that systolic hypertension deserves more importance especially due to its profound effect on cardiovascular disease progression. Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) has now increased amongst the elderly population due to increased longevity. METHOD: Total 240 patients of 65 - 89 years age group were taken as study group at the out-patient and in-door department of CNMC Kolkata and NBMC, Siliguri. All patients were divided into three groups based on systolic blood pressure: Gr A=SBP-140—159 mmHg, Gr B=SBP-160-179 mmHg & Gr C=SBP>180 mmHg with each group having age and sex matched 100 healthy normotensive control subjects. History, Clinical examination, ECG and Echocardiographic studies were done in the selected patients. Sophisticated tests were not done due to nonavailability. RESULTS: Major Electrocardiogram changes are left atrial enlargement, left ventricular hypertrophy with systolic strain, Inferior wall ischemia, both bundle branch blocks, bifascicular block, left axis deviation. Other minor changes were: antero- septal ischemia, septal wall ischemia, lateral wallischemia, right axis deviation, arrhythmia, and low voltage were also noted. Echocardiography in 2-D and M-ModeandEcho-Doppler assessment showed increased Intraventricular septal thickness (IVST), Left ventricular posterior wall Thickness (LVPWT) and Left ventricular mass index were the major changes. Left ventricular functional abnormality like diastolic dysfunction was another significant abnormality. CONCLUSION: Different anatomical & functional changes in ISH are more prevalent in higher SBP group, and strong risk factor for future catastrophic cardiac events. It is an independent risk factor for CVS morbidity and mortality. Early therapeutic intervention along with life style modification therefore can prevent long term CVS complications. INTRODUCTION: Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is a common form of hypertension in elderly person of both sex and it affects 2/3 rd of all individuals of hypertension between the ages of 65-89 years 1 . During the recent decades the importance of perceiving ISH has changed from a relatively benign condition to major cardiovascular risk factor and more recent data from Framingham study reinforces the prognostic significance of raised SBP and wide pulse pressure as independent risk factor2. According to JNC 7th report in person older than 50years, systolic BP>140 is much more important CVS risk factor than diastolic BP. ISH is also a common antecedent of heart failure, kidney damage, blindness and other conditions. Heart failure may be due to LVH with resulting diastolic dysfunction with or without concomitant systolic dysfunction or myocardial infarction4. Though it was thought previously that morbidity and mortality from hypertension are directly related to both SBP and DBP, it is now

Attempts were made to evaluate the limiting nutritional parameters for production of dibutyl phthalate from Streptomyces albidoflavus MTCC 3662. The compound was found as a broad spectrum bioactive compound that acts as an antimetabolite of proline. Among the carbon and nitrogen sources tested in batch fermentation, glycerol (1.75%) and arginine (0.075%) supported best production. Arginine was replaced with sodium nitrate (0.025%) in the later studied due to its low cost, easy availability and as well as for good production capability. Other limiting nutrients, KH2PO4 0.05%, NaCl 0.15% and MgSO 4 0.03% were found best for production. Effect of trace salts in the basal medium was also tested. Medium supplementation with casein hydrolysate, jaggery and yeast extract (0.001%, each) enhanced the production. Yield enhancement was also observed with Tween-80 (0.2µg/ml). Optimization of nutritional parameters imparts enhancement of production by 2.4 fold, using low cost substrates.

Surface wave methods are increasingly being used for geotechnical site characterization. The methodology is based on the dispersive characteristic of Rayleigh waves in vertically heterogeneous medium. Experimental dispersion curve is inverted to obtain one-dimensional shear-wave velocity profile by inverse problem solution. Uncertainty associated with this surface wave inversion has drawn much attention. Inverse problem solution can provide different equivalent shear-wave velocity profiles, which may lead to different seismic site response analysis. In this study, a neighborhood algorithm has been used for inversion of dispersion curve to get a set of equivalent shear-wave velocity profiles. These equivalent velocity profiles are then used for 1D ground response analysis for different input motion record of the same earthquake at different epicentral distances. Results show significant variation in amplification spectrum in terms of maximum amplification as well as peak frequency. The extent of this uncertainty largely depends on the characteristics of the ground motion records at different epicentral distances. A linear variation is observed between mean coefficients of variation of amplification spectrum and epicentral distance of ground motion records. A gradual increase in mean value of peak frequency and peak amplification with the epicentral distance is also observed.

The strain Bacillus methylotrophycus-SCS2012 (Bacillus sp. SCS2012) identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing was isolated from soil. Ethyl acetate extract of B. methylotrophycus-SCS2012 showed antibacterial activity against both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The crude metabolite extracted from B. methylotrophycus-SCS2012 exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Streptococcus agalactae, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei and Shigella dysenteriae with the zone of inhibition range 28.33 to 32.16 mm at 100μg/disc. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the extract against Streptococcus agalactae, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei and Shigella dysenteriae was found to be 156, 156, 312, 312 and 625µg/ml respectively. The ethyl acetate extract also exhibited cytotoxic effects on brine shrimp lethality bioassay with LC50 value of 10.78 g/ml. Thus the ethyl acetate extract of Bacillus methylotrophycus-SCS2012 has broad spectrum activity with moderate cytotoxicity.

Introduction: Hypertensive disorder complicates the pregnancy. The exact aetiology of hypertensive disorders of the pregnancy is still unknown and management is controversial. Aim: To evaluate the role of urinary Calcium Creatinine Ratio (CCR) as a marker in early diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. Materials and Methods: Urinary calcium creatinine ratio was determined in a random sample of urine in 100 patients of pre-eclampsia (Study group) and 100 normotensive pregnant (Control group) patients of gestational age 20- 36 weeks. Cut off value for CCR was taken as ≤ 0.04. Comparative study was done by using chi-square test. Results: In study group, 89% of the cases had urinary CCR ≤ 0.04. Amongst the controls only 6% of the cases had CCR ≤ 0.04. Statistically, CCR as high risk factor for early diagnosis of pre-eclampsia was significant (p

Executive Summary A business projects its financial performance through its financial statements. An audited financial statement is considered to be genuine and dependable by the stakeholders of the business. Therefore, statutory auditors should be self-regulating so that they can perform their professional role without being influenced by the management. The current regulatory framework for statutory auditors defines independence requirement for a statutory auditor in a professional engagement, points out circumstances that may create threats to independence and also proposes some measures to safeguard the same. However, in recent corporate accounting scandals, company’s failure led to devastating cost to the stakeholders, and audit failure was identified to be one of the causes behind them. Following investigations also sensed possible impairment of statutory auditors’ independence in those scams. In this backdrop, based on the existing literature on this subject, this article identifies variables influencing positively or negatively statutory auditors’ independence in their professional engagement. Opinions of statutory auditors and select other groups of respondents were collected. Most of the respondent groups believe that statutory auditors fail to detect irregularities in financial books due to their lack of independence and professional scepticism as was observed in this study. Several legal case decisions also support this finding. A long association between a statutory auditor and a client is one of the major reasons behind statutory auditors’ lack of independence. Opinions of respondents supported by applicable legal case decisions also proved that lax disciplinary measures and inadequate inspection framework caused audit failures in many recent cases. This study also analyses a significant difference of opinion among respondent groups and identifies the groups having a similar line of thought for each variable. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s honestly significant difference (HSD) test were conducted, respectively, for these purposes. The result shows that significant differences exist among the respondent groups for most of the variables. Moreover, corporate executives have shown a significant difference of opinion from professional accountants, especially on the issue of statutory auditors’ negligence. While corporate executives believe statutory auditors are negligent in their duty, professional accountants oppose their views. Applicable legal case decisions also support such findings. Investors have shown similar views in line with academicians and students.

Context: To analyze the nutritional and physicochemical parameters for the production of alkali-thermostable and cellulase free xylanase from bacteria. Objectives: The aim of this study was to isolation and identification and of alkali-thermostable and cellulase free xylanase producing bacteria from soil as well as optimization of process parameters for xylanase production. Materials and Methods: The bacterium Bacillus sp. was isolated from soil by serial dilution technique on xylan agar medium and identified by morphological and biochemical studies. The production of xylanase was carried out on xylan broth medium and xylanase activity was assayed by dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) method. The effect of cultural parameters on the production of xylanase was determined by measuring the activity of xylanase. The effect of temperature and pH on the activity of partially purified xylanase as well as substrate specificity of xylanase were examined. Results: The maximum xylanase production (4000 U/L) by a Bacillus sp. was attained when the medium containing 0.5% wheat bran xylan and peptone at pH 8.0 and 50-55°C within 48-60 h. The partially purified xylanase was optimally active at pH 9.0 and 55°C. The xylanase showed high substrate activity towards wheat bran xylan but no activity towards cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose and starch. Thus the enzyme was alkali-thermostable and cellulase free xylanase. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study suggest that the Bacillus sp. used is highly potential and useful for the production of cellulase free xylanase. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbs.v19i0.12994 J. bio-sci. 19: 7-14, 2011

The spatial variation of ground motion in Kolkata Metropolitan District (KMD) has been estimated by generating synthetic ground motion considering the point source model coupled with site response analysis. The most vulnerable source was identified from regional seismotectonic map for an area of about 350 km radius around Kolkata. The rock level acceleration time histories at 121 borehole locations in Kolkata for the vulnerable source, Eocene Hinge Zone, due to maximum credible earthquake (MCE) moment magnitude 6.2 were generated by synthetic ground motion model. Soil investigation data of 121 boreholes were collected from the report of Soil Data Bank Project, Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Surface level ground motion parameters were determined using SHAKE2000 software. The results are presented in the form of peak ground acceleration (PGA) at rock level and ground surface, amplification factor, and the response spectra at the ground surface for frequency 1.5 Hz, 3 Hz, 5 Hz and 10 Hz and 5% damping ratio. Site response study shows higher PGA in comparison with rock level acceleration. Maximum amplification in some portion in KMD area is found to be as high as 3.0 times compared to rock level.

In this study, an antimicrobial compound was isolated from the fermented broth of Streptomyces albidoflavus 321.2 (MTCC 3662), a new soil isolate. Arginine glycerol salt medium was found best for the production and was maximum after the 6 th day of fermentation at 32°C using 6% (v/v) inoculum at static condition to yield 250 g/ml. The compound exhibited less toxicity against experimental plant and animal systems.

Cellulases are inducible enzymes that are synthesized by a large number of microorganisms during their growth on cellulosic materials. This study focuses on the isolation and screening of cellulase-producing bacteria from sugar industry waste (molasses) and characterization by morphological and biochemical analysis. Further, purification of cellulase was carried by ammonium sulfate precipitation and followed by column chromatography and molecular weight determined by SDS-PAGE. The isolated bacterial strains were grown on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar plate at various optimum conditions like pH, temperature, incubation period, carbon and nitrogen sources and substrate concentration. Three isolated strains showed clear hydrolyzing zone on agar plates containing CMC agar after Congo-red staining were identified as cellulase-producing bacteria. Based on cultural, morphological, and biochemical characteristics, the isolated strains were identified as Paenibacillus sp., Aeromonas sp., and Bacillus sp. Among the isolated strains, Paenibacillus sp. showed the capability for highest cellulase production (0.89 µmol ml-1 min-1) at optimal pH 7.0 and 40°C temperature on 24 hour of the incubation period at 1% CMC substrate concentration and was selected for further cellulase purification. In the final step of cellulase purification, the specific activity, purification fold and recovery were 1720 U/mg, 9.74 and 35.6%, respectively. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was determined 66.9 kDa and the enzyme showed a high specificity to CMC substrate. The bacterial strains present in molasses have the potential for cellulase production. Substrate specificity of the purified cellulase indicates it to be an endo-β-1, 4-glucanase. The cellulase produced from the selected strain may benefit for industrial application.

Isolation and characterization of cellulase-producing aeorobic bacterial flora in the intestine of omnivorous tilapia (Oreochromis mossambica) and phytophagous Chinese grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) have been carried out using selective carboxymethylcellulose-agar (CMC-agar) medium. The cellulolytic activity was measured both qualitatively and quantitatively. It was found that the ability of different strains in degrading cellulose varies within a wide range. Among the strains isolated from the gut of each test fish, TM1 and CI3 isolated from O. mossambica and C. idella, respectively exhibited maximum cellulolytic activity (67.02 and 35.8 U mL−1 respectively). Pure cultures of these strains were selected for morphological, physiological and biochemical characterization. On the basis of these tests, the isolated strains were identified as Bacillus circulans (TM1) and Bacillus megaterium (CI3). Both the strains are rod-shaped, motile and show better temperature (15–42°C) and pH (5–11) tolerance. The selected strains were further quantitatively assayed for amylase and protease activities. Maximum amylase and protease activities were exhibited by TM1 and CI3 respectively. Information generated from the present study might contribute towards better-feed formulation incorporating plant ingredients.

We have shown that a xylan-degrading bacterium, W-61, excretes multiple xylanases, including xylanase 5 with a molecular mass of 140 kDa. Here, we emend the previously used classification of the bacterium (i.e., Aeromonas caviae W-61) to Paenibacillus sp. strain W-61 on the basis of the nucleotide sequence of the 16S rRNA gene, and we clone and express the xyn5 gene encoding xylanase 5 (Xyn5) in Escherichia coli and study the subcellular localization of Xyn5. xyn5 encodes 1,326 amino acid residues, including a 27-amino-acid signal sequence. Sequence analysis indicated that Xyn5 comprises two family 22 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM), a family 10 catalytic domain of glycosyl hydrolases, a family 9 CBM, a domain similar to the lysine-rich region of Clostridium thermocellum SdbA, and three S-layer-homologous (SLH) domains. Recombinant Xyn5 bound to a crystalline cellulose, Avicel PH-101, while an N-terminal 90-kDa fragment of Xyn5, which lacks the C-terminal half of the family 9 CBM, did not bind to Avicel PH-101. Xyn5 was cell bound, and the cell-bound protein was digested by exogenous trypsin to produce immunoreactive and xylanolytic fragments with molecular masses of 80 and 60 kDa. Xyn5 was exclusively distributed in the cell envelope fraction consisting of a peptidoglycan-containing layer and an associated S layer. Thus, Paenibacillus sp. strain W-61 Xyn5 is a cell surface-anchored modular xylanase possessing a functional cellulose-binding module and SLH domains. Possible cooperative action of multiple xylanases produced by strain W-61 is discussed on the basis of the modular structure of Xyn5.