8 research outputs found
THE EFFECT OF AUDIT FIRM SIZE, TENURE, AND COMMITTEE SIZE ON REGULATORY FILING TIMELINESS OF NIGERIA LISTED FIRMS
No full textThe study investigates the effect of audit firm size, tenure, and committee size on regulatory filing timeliness of Nigeria Listed Firms. Regulatory Filing Timeliness is represented with ‘the difference between the financial end to the date in which the auditor signs the financial statements’ while Audit Firm Size, Tenure, and Committee Size are represented with audit firm size, audit tenure and audit committee. Using 42 firms-years longitudinal paneled of 420 observations. Ddescriptive and correlational research design is used. Based on the data's availability at the time of the inquiry, the study used a convenient sampling strategy to gather secondary data. These data cover the years 2012 through 2021 and were compiled from the annual financial reports of these selected companies. Descriptive statistics and panel regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The analysis findings shows that audit firm size, audit tenure and audit committee all has a positive and statistically significant effect on the Regulatory Filing Timeliness of some listed companies in Nigeria. According to the findings, managers should keep in mind that larger audit firms tend to have more resources, expertise and experience will contribute to efficient and timely financial reporting. Similarly, longer audit tenure enhances familiarity, knowledge, and the ability to streamline the audit process, results to more timely reporting and lastly the committee should compose of individuals with diverse expertise and knowledge which will enable them with the necessary resources and support to fulfill their responsibilities effectively
THE EFFECT OF AUDIT FIRM SIZE, TENURE, AND COMMITTEE SIZE ON REGULATORY FILING TIMELINESS OF NIGERIA LISTED FIRMS
No full textThe study investigates the effect of audit firm size, tenure, and committee size on regulatory filing timeliness of Nigeria Listed Firms. Regulatory Filing Timeliness is represented with ‘the difference between the financial end to the date in which the auditor signs the financial statements’ while Audit Firm Size, Tenure, and Committee Size are represented with audit firm size, audit tenure and audit committee. Using 42 firms-years longitudinal paneled of 420 observations. Ddescriptive and correlational research design is used. Based on the data's availability at the time of the inquiry, the study used a convenient sampling strategy to gather secondary data. These data cover the years 2012 through 2021 and were compiled from the annual financial reports of these selected companies. Descriptive statistics and panel regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The analysis findings shows that audit firm size, audit tenure and audit committee all has a positive and statistically significant effect on the Regulatory Filing Timeliness of some listed companies in Nigeria. According to the findings, managers should keep in mind that larger audit firms tend to have more resources, expertise and experience will contribute to efficient and timely financial reporting. Similarly, longer audit tenure enhances familiarity, knowledge, and the ability to streamline the audit process, results to more timely reporting and lastly the committee should compose of individuals with diverse expertise and knowledge which will enable them with the necessary resources and support to fulfill their responsibilities effectively
HPDM: A Hybrid Pseudonym Distribution Method for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks
No full textAbstractProtecting the location privacy of drivers is still one of the main challenges in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). The changing of pseudonym is commonly accepted as a solution to this problem. The pseudonyms represent fake vehicle identifiers. Roadside Units (RSUs) play a central role in the existing pseudonyms distribution solutions. Indeed, the VANET area should totally be covered by RSUs in order to satisfy the demand of vehicles in terms of pseudonyms. However, the total coverage is costly and hard to be achieved, especially in the first phase of VANETs deployment. In addition, RSUs could be overloaded due to the large number of pseudonyms requests that could be received from vehicles. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid pseudonyms distribution method, called HPDM that relies not only on RSUs but also on vehicles to perform the pseudonyms distribution. The analysis demonstrate that HPDM is privacy and accountability preserving. The performance evaluation of the proposed method is carried out using veins framework based on OMNet++ network simulator and SUMO mobility engine and shows its feasibility
VLPZ: The Vehicular Location Privacy Zone
No full textAbstractOne of the key challenges in the success of vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) is to consider the location privacy of drivers. Although, the pseudonym changing approach is suggested by standardization development organizations such as IEEE and ETSI, the development of an effective pseudonym changing strategy is still an open issue. The existing pseudonym changing strategies are either not effective to protect against the pseudonyms linking attacks or can have a negative impact on the VANETs’ applications. To address these issues, this paper proposes a new pseudonym changing strategy based on the Vehicular Location Privacy Zone (VLPZ), which is a roadside infrastructure designed and dedicated to change the pseudonyms. Existing roadside infrastructures such as gas stations and toll booths are considered as typical places to implement a VLPZ. An analytical model based on queuing theory is developed to evaluate the location privacy protection achieved at a VLPZ using the size of vehicles’ anonymity set as a metric
Valorization of industrial siliceous wastes in the production of geopolymers binders
No full textAbstract
To develop a practical alternative to classic cement materials, alkali-activated materials were manufactured from industrial wastes (fly and bottom ash). Microstructural behavior of these blends was investigated through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, thermal analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and surface response methodology. Natrolite, phillipsite, and calcium aluminum silicate hydrate and sodium carbonate newly formed after alkali activation. Empirical ternary diagrams as well as modeling equations were united to predict the physico-mechanical evolution of the prepared specimens. The used model described well the evolution of the studied properties against the processing factors; temperature, NaOH concentration and curing time. The weight of the effect of each parameter was estimated and factor to factor interaction was considered. NaOH concentrations and ageing temperature had a considerable positive effect on density and mechanical strength, respectively. Water absorption and electrical conductivity were influenced differently by the factors, the electrical conductivity increases as the NaOH concentrations increase, and time and temperature decrease. The response surfaces and their results were correlated with the microstructure of the hardened samples. Overall, alkali activated binders with good engineering properties could be synthesized in the considered conditions. The optimal alkali activation conditions were ∼12 M and the corresponding final properties were as follows: 50 MPa for the compressive strength and 20% for water absorption while density was recorded at a 1.75 g/cm3 value.Abstract
To develop a practical alternative to classic cement materials, alkali-activated materials were manufactured from industrial wastes (fly and bottom ash). Microstructural behavior of these blends was investigated through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, thermal analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and surface response methodology. Natrolite, phillipsite, and calcium aluminum silicate hydrate and sodium carbonate newly formed after alkali activation. Empirical ternary diagrams as well as modeling equations were united to predict the physico-mechanical evolution of the prepared specimens. The used model described well the evolution of the studied properties against the processing factors; temperature, NaOH concentration and curing time. The weight of the effect of each parameter was estimated and factor to factor interaction was considered. NaOH concentrations and ageing temperature had a considerable positive effect on density and mechanical strength, respectively. Water absorption and electrical conductivity were influenced differently by the factors, the electrical conductivity increases as the NaOH concentrations increase, and time and temperature decrease. The response surfaces and their results were correlated with the microstructure of the hardened samples. Overall, alkali activated binders with good engineering properties could be synthesized in the considered conditions. The optimal alkali activation conditions were ∼12 M and the corresponding final properties were as follows: 50 MPa for the compressive strength and 20% for water absorption while density was recorded at a 1.75 g/cm3 value
Barriers and facilitators to patient engagement in patient safety from patients and healthcare professionals' perspectives: A systematic review and meta-synthesis
No full textAIMS: To explore patients' and healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perceived barriers and facilitators to patient engagement in patient safety. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-synthesis from five computerized databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO, as well as grey literature and reference lists of included studies. Data were last searched in December 2019 with no limitation on the year of publication. Qualitative and Mix-methods studies that explored HCPs' and patients' perceptions of barriers and facilitators to patient engagement in patient safety were included. Two authors independently screened the titles and the abstracts of studies. Next, the full texts of the screened studies were reviewed by two authors. Potential discrepancies were resolved by consensus with a third author. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used for quality appraisal. Thematic analysis was used to synthesize results. RESULTS: Nineteen studies out of 2616 were included in this systematic review. Themes related to barriers included: patient unwillingness, HCPs' unwillingness, and inadequate infrastructures. Themes related to facilitators were: encouraging patients, sharing information with patients, establishing trustful relationship, establishing patient-centred care and improving organizational resources. CONCLUSION: Patients have an active role in improving their safety. Strategies are required to address barriers that hinder or prevent patient engagement and create capacity and facilitate action.Full Tex
SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues
No full textVariability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types. © 2021 The Author(s
Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19
No full textInterindividual clinical vari-ability is vast in humans infected withsevere acute respiratory syndrome corona-virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), ranging from silent in-fection to rapid death. Three risk factors forlife-threatening coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pneumonia have been identified—being male, being elderly, or having othermedical conditions—but these risk factorscannot explain why critical disease remainsrelatively rare in any given epidemiologicalgroup. Given the rising toll of the COVID-19pandemic in terms of morbidity and mortality,understanding the causes and mechanisms oflife-threatening COVID-19 is crucial.The Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Rockefeller University, the St. Giles Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (R01AI088364), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program (UL1 TR001866), a Fast Grant from Emergent Ventures, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, the Yale Center for Mendelian Genomics and the GSP Coordinating Center funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) (UM1HG006504 and U24HG008956), the French National Research Agency (ANR) under the Investments for the Future program (ANR-10-IAHU-01), the Integrative Biology of Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Excellence (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID), the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) (EQU201903007798), the FRM and ANR GENCOVID project (ANRS-COV05), the Square Foundation, Grandir – Fonds de solidarité pour l’enfance, the SCOR Corporate Foundation for Science, the Institut Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), and the University of Paris. Samples from San Raffaele Hospital were obtained through the Covid-BioB project and by healthcare personnel of San Raffaele Hospital, San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-TIGET) clinical laboratory and clinical research unit, funded by the Program Project COVID-19 OSR-UniSR and Fondazione Telethon. The French COVID Cohort Study Group was sponsored by INSERM and supported by the REACTing consortium and by a grant from the French Ministry of Health (PHRC 20-0424). The Cov-Contact Cohort was supported by the REACTing consortium, the French Ministry of Health, and the European Commission (RECOVER WP 6). The Milieu Intérieur Consortium was supported by the French Government’s Investissement d’Avenir program, Laboratoire d’Excellence Milieu Intérieur grant (ANR-10-LABX-69-01) (primary investigators: L.Q.-M. and D.Du.). The Simoa experiment was supported by the PHRC-20-0375 COVID-19 grant “DIGITAL COVID” (primary investigator: G.G.). S.G.T. is supported by a Leadership 3 Investigator Grant awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and a COVID19 Rapid Response Grant awarded by UNSW Sydney. C.R.-G. and colleagues were supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (COV20_01333 and COV20_01334, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation RTC-2017-6471-1; AEI/FEDER, UE) and Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (CGIEU0000219140 and “Apuestas científicas del ITER para colaborar en la lucha contra la COVID-19”). S.T.-A. and A.B. were supported by ANR-20-COVI-0064 (primary investigator: A.Be.). This work is supported by the French Ministry of Health “Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique Inter regional 2013,” by the Contrat de Plan Etat-Lorraine and FEDER Lorraine, and by a public grant overseen by the French National Research Agency (ANR) as part of the second Investissements d’Avenir program FIGHT-HF (reference no. ANR-15-RHU-0004) and by the French PIA project “Lorraine Université d’Excellence” (reference no. ANR-15-IDEX-04-LUE) (45); and biobanking is performed by the Biological Resource Center Lorrain BB-0033-00035. This study was supported by the Fonds IMMUNOV, for Innovation in Immunopathology; by a grant from the Agence National de la Recherche (ANR-flash Covid19 “AIROCovid” to F.R.-L.); and by the FAST Foundation (French Friends of Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital). Work in the Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease was supported by NIH grants P01AI138398-S1, 2U19AI111825, and R01AI091707-10S1; a George Mason University Fast Grant; and the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation. The Amsterdam UMC Covid-19 Biobank was supported by grants from the Amsterdam Corona Research Fund, the Dr. C.J. Vaillant Fund, and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development [ZonMw; NWO-Vici-Grant (grant no. 918·19·627 to D.v.d.B.)]. This work was also supported by the Division of Intramural Research of the National Institute of Dental Craniofacial Research and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, and by Regione Lombardia, Italy (project “Risposta immune in pazienti con COVID-19 e comorbidita”). The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Uniformed Services University or the Department of Defense. J.H. holds an Institut Imagine M.D.-Ph.D. fellowship from the Fondation Bettencourt Schueller. J.R. is supported by the INSERM Ph.D. program (“poste d’accueil Inserm”). P.Ba. was supported by the French Foundation for Medical Research (FRM, EA20170638020) and the M.D.-Ph.D. program of the Imagine Institute (with the support of the Fondation Bettencourt-Schueller). We thank the Association “Turner et vous” for their help and support. Sample processing at IrsiCaixa was possible thanks to the crowdfunding initiative YoMeCorono. D.C.V. is supported by the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec clinician-scientist scholar program. K.K. was supported by the Estonian Research Council grant PUT1367. We thank the GEN-COVID Multicenter Study (https://sites.google.com/dbm.unisi.it/gen-covid). We thank the NIAID Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology, Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch (contract no. HHSN316201300006W/HHSN27200002 to MSC, Inc.), the Operations Engineering Branch for developing the HGRepo system to enable streamlined access to the data, and the NCI Advanced Biomedical Computational Science (ABCS) for data transformation support. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority was supported under contract no. HHSO10201600031C (to J.H.). Financial support was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) K08AI135091; the Burroughs Wellcome Fund CAMS; the Clinical Immunology Society; and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
