Procedimentos utilizados pela Auditoria Interna para detecção de fraudes: estudo de caso em uma empresa privada operadora de planos de saúde

A presente pesquisa objetiva verificar se os procedimentos utilizados pela Auditoria Interna na detecção de fraudes em uma empresa privada operadora de planos de saúde permitiram a coleta de evidências confiáveis e suficientes para suportar as conclusões dos auditores sobre os fatos reportados nos relatórios de auditoria interna. Para realização do estudo, adotou-se como estratégia investigativa, o estudo de caso único. As técnicas utilizadas ao longo de toda a pesquisa foram as análises documentais e de conteúdo, baseadas nos objetivos propostos no estudo e na fundamentação teórica. A pesquisa concentrou-se nas análises dos relatórios de auditoria interna que reportaram ocorrências de fraudes na empresa estudada, emitidos nos anos de 2010, 2011 e 2012; contudo optou-se, também, por descrever as rotinas e práticas operacionais relacionadas à atuação do departamento de auditoria que contribuíram para uma melhor compreensão dos dados e do resultado do estudo. Os principais achados demonstram que os procedimentos utilizados pela Auditoria Interna na detecção de fraudes permitiram a coleta de evidências de auditoria confiáveis e suficientes para suportar as conclusões dos auditores. O resultado da pesquisa indica, também, que não existe um padrão de utilização dos procedimentos de auditoria. De acordo com o tipo de fraude e objetivo, o auditor interno deve definir quais os procedimentos de auditoria devem ser utilizados na obtenção de evidências de auditoria confiáveis e suficientes para suportar as suas conclusões.

Analysis of SEB and SEGR in super-junction MOSFETs

The electric field distribution in the super junction power MOSFET is analyzed using analytical modeling and numerical simulations in this paper. The single-event burn-out (SEB) and single-event gate rupture (SEGR) phenomena in this device are studied in detail. It is demonstrated that the super junction device is much less sensitive to SEB and SEGR compared to the standard power MOSFET. The physical mechanism is explained.

SEU ground and flight data in static random access memories

This paper presents the vulnerabilities of single event effects (SEEs) simulated by heavy ions on ground and observed oil SJ-5 research satellite in space for static random access memories (SRAMs). A single event upset (SEU) prediction code has been used to estimate the proton-induced upset rates based oil the ground test curve of SEU cross-section versus heavy ion linear energy transfer (LET). The result agrees with that of the flight data.

单粒子效应地面模拟实验装置和IDT71256的单粒子效应研究

作为空间环境效应之一的单粒子效应对航天器在轨道中的安全运行有着严重的威胁。为了清楚地认识这一效应的机制、机理，可以采用重离子加速器地面模拟的方法来研究这一效应。为此建立和完善了国内第一套基于重离子加速器的单粒子效应地面模拟实验装置，并在此装置上进行了Xe离子辐照IDT71256的单粒了效应实验。建立的基于兰州重离子加速器的单粒子效应地面模拟实验装置包括真空靶室系统和束流监测系统。实验用兰州重离子加速器提供的~(40)Ar完成了对整个装置的性能测试。结果表明：该装置能很好的满足单粒子效应研究的需求，真空靶室系统允许在不破坏真空的条件下更换器件，改变倾角，改变离子入射能量等。注量探测器实现了对弱束流非拦截式测量；能量探测器对Ar离子测量的偏差小于2%；束流均匀度探测器的位置分辨好于0.34mm。在这一实验装置上，用兰州重离子加速器提供的~(136)Xe对两片IDT71256的单粒子效应情况进行了模拟研究。结果发现：在两片器件中均观察到单粒子翻转和单粒子闭锁，而且两片器件均表现出明显的翻转不对称性，其中1→0的翻转约占总翻转数的90%。探讨了离子入射角、有效LET、和离子射程对翻转和闭锁截面的影响，发现除离子的有效LET以外，离子在器件中的射程也将在很大程度上影响器件的翻转和闭锁截面。

利用HIRFL评估半导体器件单粒子效应敏感度的研究

用55MeV/u的~(40)Ar，离子对国内第一台专用的单粒子效应加速器模拟实验装置的注时探测器、能量探测器以及均匀度探测器进行了刻度。利用高能~(136)Xe离子获得了静态存储器IDT71256的单粒子翻转饱和截面和单粒子闭锁截面，在国内首次得到了该器件完整的G一LET曲线。并用改进的FONT方法预示了该器件以及其它常用宇航器件的在轨翻转率；用FOM公式、Barak经验公式和Lar叮模型推算这些器件的质子饱爪佩截而，少一仁对二种方法推算的结果进行了比较；探讨了利用HIRFL提供的高能~(12)C离子来模拟质子引起的单粒子效应的可能性；利用翻转截面与离子入射角度的关系估算了IDT71256敏感区的厚度以及聚酞亚胺膜的厚度，获得了截面与离子沉积能量的关系，临界沉积能量与临界LET值吻合，聚酞亚胺膜的厚度与对同类器件测量的结果一致；研究了离子入射角度对多位翻转的影响，在高LET值轰击下以及高能离子掠射的情况下，IDT71256多位翻转的比例可以高达70％，对于MBU敏感区中沉积的总能量及其分布范围是两个重要的参数；IDT71256单粒子翻转截面的角度效应主要是多位翻转的贡献；对实验中各种误差来源进行了分析。部分研究结果己经应用于星载七卜算机系统的抗辐射加固设计，建立的实验方法和理论模型为利用HIRFL开展宇航器件单粒子效应敏感度的评估奠定了坚实的基础。

Effects of task instruction on autobiographical memory specificity in young and older adults

Older adults tend to retrieve autobiographical information that is overly general (i.e., not restricted to a single event, termed the overgenerality effect) relative to young adults' specific memories. A vast majority of studies that have reported overgenerality effects explicitly instruct participants to retrieve specific memories, thereby requiring participants to maintain task goals, inhibit inappropriate responses, and control their memory search. Since these processes are impaired in healthy ageing, it is important to determine whether such task instructions influence the magnitude of the overgenerality effect in older adults. In the current study participants retrieved autobiographical memories during presentation of musical clips. Task instructions were manipulated to separate age-related differences in the specificity of underlying memory representations from age-related differences in following task instructions. Whereas young adults modulated memory specificity based on task demands, older adults did not. These findings suggest that reported rates of overgenerality in older adults' memories might include age-related differences in memory representation, as well as differences in task compliance. Such findings provide a better understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved in age-related changes in autobiographical memory and may also be valuable for future research examining effects of overgeneral memory on general well-being. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Effects of task instruction on autobiographical memory specificity in young and older adults.

Older adults tend to retrieve autobiographical information that is overly general (i.e., not restricted to a single event, termed the overgenerality effect) relative to young adults' specific memories. A vast majority of studies that have reported overgenerality effects explicitly instruct participants to retrieve specific memories, thereby requiring participants to maintain task goals, inhibit inappropriate responses, and control their memory search. Since these processes are impaired in healthy ageing, it is important to determine whether such task instructions influence the magnitude of the overgenerality effect in older adults. In the current study participants retrieved autobiographical memories during presentation of musical clips. Task instructions were manipulated to separate age-related differences in the specificity of underlying memory representations from age-related differences in following task instructions. Whereas young adults modulated memory specificity based on task demands, older adults did not. These findings suggest that reported rates of overgenerality in older adults' memories might include age-related differences in memory representation, as well as differences in task compliance. Such findings provide a better understanding of the underlying cognitive mechanisms involved in age-related changes in autobiographical memory and may also be valuable for future research examining effects of overgeneral memory on general well-being.

Proteomic Analysis of Recurrent Joint Inflammation in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

The synovial fluid proteome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis was investigated to isolate joint-specific biomarkers that are expressed in patients displaying recurrent joint inflammation. To identify the synovial specific proteome, matched synovial fluid and plasma samples were subjected to protein separation by 2-dimension electrophoresis (2DE). Forty-three protein spots, overexpressed in the joint, were identified. Synovial fluids from children with single-event knee joint inflammation were then compared with a group with recurrent knee disease. Nine synovial specific proteins were significantly differentially expressed in the recurrent group. Proteolytic fragments of collagen X, fibrin beta-chain, and T-cell receptor alpha-region have been identified among this protein cluster. Putative biomarkers, overexpressed in the joint and differentially expressed in children with recurrent joint inflammation, have been identified. These proteins may play a significant role determining the pathological state within the chronically inflamed joint and influence disease progression in JIA. This is the first study of the synovial proteome in children.

Dendrochronological evidence for a lower water-table on peatland around 3200-3000 BC from subfossil pine in northern Scotland

Tree-ring analysis of subfossil Pinus sylvestris L., from nine new peatland sites located beyond the species’ current northern limit in Scotland, established a regional chronology called WRATH-9. The chronology has been provisionally dated against Irish pine chronologies and provides the first annual resolution picture of Scots pine expansion from c. 3200 bc and subsequent demise from c. 3000 bc. Pine germination and growth is suggested to be associated with a widespread fall in bog water-tables that indicates a regional climatic control. Bog pines progressively declined in number, rather than died out in a single event, reflecting their growth in a marginal habitat, close to a critical ecological threshold. The use of tree-ring sequences from in situ bog pine macrofossils provides a higher resolution insight into past conditions than possible with existing radiocarbon and pollen-based chronologies.

Rapid sympatric ecological differentiation of crater lake cichlid fishes within historic times

Background: After a volcano erupts, a lake may form in the cooled crater and become an isolated aquatic ecosystem. This makes fishes in crater lakes informative for understanding sympatric evolution and ecological diversification in barren environments. From a geological and limnological perspective, such research offers insight about the process of crater lake ecosystem establishment and speciation. In the present study we use genetic and coalescence approaches to infer the colonization history of Midas cichlid fishes (Amphilophus cf. citrinellus) that inhabit a very young crater lake in Nicaragua-the ca. 1800 year-old Lake Apoyeque. This lake holds two sympatric, endemic morphs of Midas cichlid: one with large, hypertrophied lips (~20% of the total population) and another with thin lips. Here we test the associated ecological, morphological and genetic diversification of these two morphs and their potential to represent incipient speciation.
Results: Gene coalescence analyses [11 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences] suggest that crater lake Apoyeque was colonized in a single event from the large neighbouring great lake Managua only about 100 years ago. This founding in historic times is also reflected in the extremely low nuclear and mitochondrial genetic diversity in Apoyeque. We found that sympatric adult thin- and thick-lipped fishes occupy distinct ecological trophic niches. Diet, body shape, head width, pharyngeal jaw size and shape and stable isotope values all differ significantly between the two lip-morphs. The eco-morphological features pharyngeal jaw shape, body shape, stomach contents and stable isotopes (d15N) all show a bimodal distribution of traits, which is compatible with the expectations of an initial stage of ecological speciation under disruptive selection. Genetic differentiation between the thin- and thick-lipped population is weak at mtDNA sequence (FST = 0.018) and absent at nuclear microsatellite loci (FST < 0.001).
Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence of eco-morphological differentiation occurring very quickly after the colonization of a new and vacant habitat. Exceptionally low levels of neutral genetic diversity and inference from coalescence indicates that the Midas cichlid population in Apoyeque is much younger (ca. 100 years or generations old) than the crater itself (ca. 1 800 years old). This suggests either that the crater remained empty for many hundreds of years after its formation or that remnant volcanic activity prevented the establishment of a stable fish population during the early life of the crater lake. Based on our findings of eco-morphological variation in the Apoyeque Midas cichlids, and known patterns of adaptation in Midas cichlids in general, we suggest that this population may be in a very early stage of speciation (incipient species), promoted by disruptive selection and ecological diversification.

The P/2010 A2 Asteroid Collision Confirmed by Rosetta/OSIRIS Observation

The discovery of P/2010 A2 by the LINEAR survey in January 2010 revealed an object displaying a large trail of material similar in shape to a cometary tail although no central condensation or coma could be detected. The appearance of this object in an asteroidal orbit in the inner main belt attracted attention as a potential new member of the Main Belt Comets class (MBCs) but the discovery of a nucleus, with an estimated diameter of 120 m, around 1500 km away from the trail implied that the extended object we were seeing could be the debris trail from a recent collision rather than the tail of a comet. Due to the low inclination of its orbit, it is difficult to conclude about the nature of P/2010 A2 from Earth-based data only, as different scenarios lead to the same appearance in the orbital configuration at the times of observations. We present here another set of images, acquired from the unique viewing geometry provided by ESA's Rosetta spacecraft en route to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Albeit faint (22 magnitude), the object could be observed by the high-resolution camera OSIRIS. We used a Finson-Probstein model to simulate the shape of the trail, and estimate the time of emission and β parameter (ratio between solar radiation pressure and gravity) for the dust grains. Simulations were compared to the OSIRIS images and ground based observations acquired at NTT and Palomar telescopes. Thanks to the different phase angle provided by Rosetta, we could reduce the number of solutions to a unique model, leading to the conclusive demonstration that the trail is due to a single event rather than a period of cometary activity.

A collision in 2009 as the origin of the debris trail of asteroid P/2010A2

The peculiar object P/2010A2 was discovered in January 2010 and given a cometary designation because of the presence of a trail of material, although there was no central condensation or coma. The appearance of this object, in an asteroidal orbit (small eccentricity and inclination) in the inner main asteroid belt attracted attention as a potential new member of the recently recognized class of main-belt comets. If confirmed, this new object would expand the range in heliocentric distance over which main-belt comets are found. Here we report observations of P/2010A2 by the Rosetta spacecraft. We conclude that the trail arose from a single event, rather than a period of cometary activity, in agreement with independent results. The trail is made up of relatively large particles of millimetre to centimetre size that remain close to the parent asteroid. The shape of the trail can be explained by an initial impact ejecting large clumps of debris that disintegrated and dispersed almost immediately. We determine that this was an asteroid collision that occurred around 10 February 2009.

M&A und das Synergieversprechen. Wen interessiert's? Entwicklung eines Ansatzes zur Analyse von Aktienkursreaktionen auf M&A-basierte Finanzkommunikation

Die Arbeit entwickelt einen Ansatz, mit dem Aktienkursreaktionen auf Unternehmensmeldungen untersucht werden können. Die Vorgehensweise entstammt der Forschungsfrage, ob Investoren im Sinne einer Kontrollfunktion des Kapitalmarktes angemessen auf Unternehmensmeldungen reagieren, die auf den Stand einer M&A-Integration hinweisen. Vermutet wird, dass Synergieeffekte vom Management im Vorfeld versprochen werden, um M&A-Transaktionen zu rechtfertigen. Anschließend würdigen bzw. kontrollieren Investoren die Entwicklung der Integration jedoch nicht ausreichend. Dies soll bewiesen werden, indem gezeigt wird, dass Kursreaktionen in Form von bereinigten Tagesrenditen und -volatilitäten, Handelsvolumen und Hoch-Tief-Spannen auf M&A-Meldungen vergleichsweise geringer ausfallen. Um eine Vergleichbarkeit von Unternehmensmeldungen verschiedener Gruppen (M&A, Produkte usw.) herstellen zu können, werden die Handlungsanreize der Meldungen mittels der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse kategorisiert. Im Rahmen einer exemplarischen Anwendung zeigte sich, dass der Ansatz, dessen Besonderheit in der systematischen Auswahl probater Beobachtungen liegt, nicht für eine praktische Übertragung geeignet ist. Demnach konnte die Vermutung weder verworfen noch bestätigt werden. Theoretisch kann aufgrund der Betrachtung eines einzelnen Ereignistages, an dem neben der zu untersuchenden Meldung keine weiteren Informationen über das Unternehmen veröffentlicht worden sind, ein relativ starker Kausalitätsbezug zwischen Meldung und Reaktion hergestellt werden. Allerdings bestehen immer noch zu viele Störereignisse und Überlagerungseffekte, die eine kritische Validierung der Ergebnisse verhindern.

Using test infrastructures for (remote) online evaluation of the sensitivity to SEUs of FPGAs

This paper proposes an online mechanism that can evaluate the sensitivity of single event upsets (SEUs) of field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The online detection mechanism cyclically reads and compares the values form the external and internal configuration memories, taking into account the mask information. This remote detection method also signals any mismatch as a result of a SEU that affects both used and not-used FPGA parts, which maximizes the monitored area. By utilizing an external, Web-accessible controller that is connected to the test infrastructure, the possibility of running the same operation in a remote manner is enabled. Moreover, the need for a local memory to store the mask values is also eliminated.