An Examination of Audit Quality Surrounding Within-Firm Engagement Office Changes

We examine the relation between within-firm office changes and audit quality in the United States. Our primary analysis documents a reduction in audit quality, measured using abnormal discretionary accruals and restatements, when the client is transferred to a smaller within-firm office (downsize effect). We are unable to find evidence that clients experience significant improvement in audit quality among transfers to a larger within-firm office (upsize effect). We then condition our sample on the change in the number of public clients of the receiving office to better understand the source of the underlying association. We find that our downsize effect is driven by offices experiencing a decrease in the number of public clients, suggesting that our main association is not entirely the result of resource constraints for the receiving office. We posit that this finding is consistent with audit quality deterioration among within-firm office changes to smaller offices driven, in part, by the receiving office’s inability to adequately overcome the knowledge transfer frictions that accompany a move to a new office. Our findings offer empirical evidence on consequences of within-firm office changes and are particularly relevant to regulators and preparers.

Grassroots of Recordkeeping: an Investigation into Archival Practices within Rugby Clubs in New Zealand

<p>The sport of rugby has been officially played in New Zealand since as early as 1870. In the early years of rugby, the rugby club was one place where the community gathered to participate and communicate. It was a hub of the local community and a place which revealed some of the social history of that community. It is where some memories of the community could be captured and this history now needs to be maintained. The purpose of this research is to establish what rugby clubs have done to preserve the archives of the club for the future. It is to investigate if these clubs are even aware of what archives they have and what practices they are carrying out to preserve them. It is these records which contain some of the history of the community and they need to be preserved for future generations so that they can get an insight into the past. The research has been carried out with the participation of seven rugby clubs in the Wellington region with a visit to each club. A club official was interviewed and at the same time there was an opportunity to view the club premises. This research established that from those clubs only one had a good understanding of its holdings and had put an archiving plan into action. Another is about to get the assistance of an archivist. The findings of this research have highlighted the need for education and guidance in the correct archival practices to be carried out. All clubs taking part thought the idea of a manual or guidelines would be of great assistance. If this idea is to be carried through it should be led and encouraged by the clubs' main association, the New Zealand Rugby Union [NZRU]. The idea will need to be promoted to the NZRU to get assistance with development and funding.</p>

Grassroots of Recordkeeping: an Investigation into Archival Practices within Rugby Clubs in New Zealand

<p>The sport of rugby has been officially played in New Zealand since as early as 1870. In the early years of rugby, the rugby club was one place where the community gathered to participate and communicate. It was a hub of the local community and a place which revealed some of the social history of that community. It is where some memories of the community could be captured and this history now needs to be maintained. The purpose of this research is to establish what rugby clubs have done to preserve the archives of the club for the future. It is to investigate if these clubs are even aware of what archives they have and what practices they are carrying out to preserve them. It is these records which contain some of the history of the community and they need to be preserved for future generations so that they can get an insight into the past. The research has been carried out with the participation of seven rugby clubs in the Wellington region with a visit to each club. A club official was interviewed and at the same time there was an opportunity to view the club premises. This research established that from those clubs only one had a good understanding of its holdings and had put an archiving plan into action. Another is about to get the assistance of an archivist. The findings of this research have highlighted the need for education and guidance in the correct archival practices to be carried out. All clubs taking part thought the idea of a manual or guidelines would be of great assistance. If this idea is to be carried through it should be led and encouraged by the clubs' main association, the New Zealand Rugby Union [NZRU]. The idea will need to be promoted to the NZRU to get assistance with development and funding.</p>

Investigating the inequalities in route to diagnosis amongst patients with diffuse large B-cell or follicular lymphoma in England

Introduction Diagnostic delay is associated with lower chances of cancer survival. Underlying comorbidities are known to affect the timely diagnosis of cancer. Diffuse large B-cell (DLBCL) and follicular lymphomas (FL) are primarily diagnosed amongst older patients, who are more likely to have comorbidities. Characteristics of clinical commissioning groups (CCG) are also known to impact diagnostic delay. We assess the association between comorbidities and diagnostic delay amongst patients with DLBCL or FL in England during 2005–2013. Methods Multivariable generalised linear mixed-effect models were used to assess the main association. Empirical Bayes estimates of the random effects were used to explore between-cluster variation. The latent normal joint modelling multiple imputation approach was used to account for partially observed variables. Results We included 30,078 and 15,551 patients diagnosed with DLBCL or FL, respectively. Amongst patients from the same CCG, having multimorbidity was strongly associated with the emergency route to diagnosis (DLBCL: odds ratio 1.56, CI 1.40–1.73; FL: odds ratio 1.80, CI 1.45–2.23). Amongst DLBCL patients, the diagnostic delay was possibly correlated with CCGs that had higher population densities. Conclusions Underlying comorbidity is associated with diagnostic delay amongst patients with DLBCL or FL. Results suggest a possible correlation between CCGs with higher population densities and diagnostic delay of aggressive lymphomas.

Correlation between acute ischaemic stroke clot length before mechanical thrombectomy and extracted clot area: Impact of thrombus size on number of passes for clot removal and final recanalization

Introduction We assessed the correlation between thrombus size before and after mechanical thrombectomy, measured as length by Computed Tomography Angiography/Non-Contrast Computed Tomography (CTA/NCCT) and Extracted Clot Area, ECA, respectively. We also assessed the influence of thrombus size on the number of passes required for clot removal and final recanalization outcome. Materials and methods Acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) thrombi retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy from 500 patients and data of clot length by CTA/NCCT were collected from three hospitals in Europe. ECA was obtained by measuring the area of the extracted clot. Non-parametric tests were used for data analysis. Results A strong positive correlation was found between clot length on CTA/NCCT and ECA (rho = 0.619,N = 500,P < 0.0001*). Vessel size influences clot length on CTA/NCCT (H2 = 98.6, P < 0.0001*) and ECA (H2 = 105.6,P < 0.0001*), but the significant correlation between CTA/NCCT length and ECA was evident in all vessels. Poorer revascularisation outcome was associated with more passes (H5 = 73.1, P < 0.0001*). More passes were required to remove longer clots (CTA/NCCT; H4 = 31.4, P < 0.0001*; ECA; H4 = 50.2, P < 0.0001*). There was no significant main association between recanalization outcome and length on CTA/NCCT or ECA, but medium sized clots (ECA 20–40 mm2) were associated with least passes and highest revascularisation outcome (N = 500, X2 = 16.2, P < 0.0001*). Conclusion Clot length on CTA/NCCT strongly correlates with ECA. Occlusion location influences clot size. More passes are associated with poorer revascularisation outcome and bigger clots. The relationship between size and revascularisation outcome is more complex. Clots of medium ECA take less passes to remove and are associated with better recanalization outcome than both smaller and larger clots.

The carbon footprint of a scientific community: A survey of the historians of mobility and their normalized yet abundant reliance on air travel

This paper presents a survey conducted among the community of transport historians, on the occasion of the annual conference of the main association in this field, T2M. The survey collected quantitative and qualitative data on air travel by these scholars during 2019. The paper discusses the weight of social factors (gender, academic position, age) in the carbon footprint of these researchers due to flying. It shows the strong dependence of this community on flying, perceived as the only system likely to meet the need for physical encounters, particularly for conferences and the life of academic networks. It also shows that these historians see the issue of the airplane as a moral problem for which their institutions are expected to propose solutions. However, the scale of the weight of long-haul flights seems to be underestimated by the scholars' perception, while it raises questions about the ability to find alternative solutions.

Caecal Microbiota Composition of Experimental Laying Hens Differs According to Genetic Line and Vaccination to IBV

BackgroundInteractions between the gut microbiota and the immune system may be involved in the vaccine response. In the present study, we studied the correlations between caecal microbiota composition and the immune response in six experimental laying hen lines harboring different haplotypes at the Major Histocompatibility complex (MHC), 7 weeks after their first vaccination against the infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Two lines were previously considered as high responders (HR) to IBV vaccination and two other ones as low responders (LR). We explored to what extent the gut microbiota could be related to this variability through the characterization of caecal bacterial communities with a 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing approach, one week after an IBV infectious challenge. ResultsWe observed significant effects of both the vaccination and the genetic line on the microbiota, with lower bacterial richness in vaccinated chickens, especially in the Ruminococcaceae family. We also observed dissimilar caecal communities among the different MHC lines, and among the vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals. The effect of vaccination was similar in all the lines, with a reduced abundance of OTUs from the Ruminococcacea UCG-014 and Faecalibacterium genera, and an increased abundance of OTUs from the Eisenbergiella genus. The main association between the microbiota and the immune phenotypes implied TCRϒδ expression on TCRϒδ+ T cells, which especially shared negative associations with OTUs from the Escherichia-Shigella genus. Finally, opposing the HR and LR groups, we identified 3 OTUs more abundant in the HR group, from the Tyzzeralla family, the Angelakisella genus, and to a lower extent the Flavonifractor family. Conversely, an OTU from the CAG-352 genus was more abundant in the LR group. ConclusionsWe assessed that the caecal microbiota composition is associated with the IBV vaccine response in laying chickens, and that TCRϒδ expression on TCRϒδ+ T cells appears as one of the main components potentially involved in this interaction.

What opportunities do early career psychiatrists have in Europe and beyond?

The European Psychiatric Association (EPA), the main association in the field of mental health in Europe, has long been supporting the development of early career psychiatrists. The EPA Early Career Psychiatrists Committee (ECPC) and its core task forces promote research activities among young psychiatrists, contribute to their professional development through organising courses and other educational events, prepare online educational materials and publications, and actively collaborate with other organisations. The EPA ECPC is always open to fostering cooperation on new professional, educational or research initiatives with early career psychiatrists from different countries.

Social Discrimination As A Barrier For The Treatment Of Chronic Diseases In Venezuelan Migrants Of Peru

Objective: To determine the association between discrimination and treatment of chronic diseases in Venezuelan emigrants. Methodology: Cross-sectional study, secondary analysis of the database of the "Survey directed at the Venezuelan population residing in the country" (ENPOVE), carried out in Peru in 2018. To evaluate the main association, we used a regression model of poisson, by adjusting the effect of the multistage sample using the svy command, and obtaining prevalence ratios (RP) with their respective confidence intervals (95% CI).Results: A population of 865 Venezuelans (58.2% women, mean age: 36.6 ± 0.7 years) were evaluated, in which 54.8% reported having felt discriminated against for being Venezuelan and 89.2% reported not receiving treatment for their chronic disease. A statistically significant association was found between having been discriminated for being Venezuelan and having received treatment for chronic diseases, in the bivariate model (RPc: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.20–0.73) and the adjusted model (RPa: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.25–0.97).Conclusion: Our study found that having felt discriminated against decreases the prevalence of receiving treatment for chronic diseases by approximately 50% compared to those who did not report having been discriminated against. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the consistency of the results, with a larger population of Venezuelans residing in Peru.

Epidemiology of Trigger Finger: Metabolic Syndrome as a New Perspective of Associated Disease

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the main diseases related to trigger finger. Methods: A retrospective, observational study was performed with data obtained through a computerized record of 75 patients with trigger finger diagnosis between July 2011 and October 2015. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome was performed following National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (2001). Results: Patients’ ages ranged from 50 to 84 years, with a mean age of 63 years. The ring finger was the most affected, followed by the middle finger, index finger, and little finger. Most had a grade 2 trigger finger classified by Green; the right hand involvement was more prevalent, as was the dominant hand. The incidence in women was twice as high as in men. Arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia were shown to be important associated diseases, but metabolic syndrome was the main association found. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome in the group of patients studied in this scientific article seems to be the main associated disease.