958 resultados para Kosovo’s independence


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When laboratory intercomparison exercises are conducted, there is no a priori dependence of the concentration of a certain compound determined in one laboratory to that determined by another(s). The same applies when comparing different methodologies. A existing data set of total mercury readings in fish muscle samples involved in a Brazilian intercomparison exercise was used to show that correlation analysis is the most effective statistical tool in this kind of experiments. Problems associated with alternative analytical tools such as mean or paired 't'-test comparison and regression analysis are discussed.

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The three main topics of this work are independent systems and chains of word equations, parametric solutions of word equations on three unknowns, and unique decipherability in the monoid of regular languages. The most important result about independent systems is a new method giving an upper bound for their sizes in the case of three unknowns. The bound depends on the length of the shortest equation. This result has generalizations for decreasing chains and for more than three unknowns. The method also leads to shorter proofs and generalizations of some old results. Hmelevksii’s theorem states that every word equation on three unknowns has a parametric solution. We give a significantly simplified proof for this theorem. As a new result we estimate the lengths of parametric solutions and get a bound for the length of the minimal nontrivial solution and for the complexity of deciding whether such a solution exists. The unique decipherability problem asks whether given elements of some monoid form a code, that is, whether they satisfy a nontrivial equation. We give characterizations for when a collection of unary regular languages is a code. We also prove that it is undecidable whether a collection of binary regular languages is a code.

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Auditor independence is a cornerstone of the auditing profession and the basic principle that underpins the reputation of the auditing profession in the public eye. Indeed, it is the attribute most demanded from auditors by the public. Therefore, the sustainability of the auditing profession depends on how auditors can protect this principle. This dissertation consists of four interrelated essays concerned with auditor independence. Specifically, it examines situations that can threaten and impair auditor independence. In addition, this dissertation also examines several variables that may enhance and protect auditor independence. The first essay aims to examine the impact of social pressures occurring within audit firms on auditors’ judgment in the setting of a society with “high power distance” and “low individualism” cultural dimensions. The social pressures consisted of obedience pressure exerted by an auditor’s superior and conformity pressure exerted by an auditor’s colleague. Moreover, two moderating variables—a multi-dimensional professional commitment and locus of control—were included as moderator variables in the relationship between the social pressures faced by auditors and their judgment. The findings show that obedience and conformity pressures influence auditor judgment. Auditors who face the social pressures will make a judgment that may be even diametrically opposite to the independence principle. The findings also indicate that a multi-dimensional professional commitment and locus of control may potentially influence auditor judgment in a situation with social pressures. The second essay aims to investigate the association of advocacy and familiarity threats caused by auditor fee dependence and auditor tenure on auditor independence based on Finnish data, law, and auditing environment. This essay was motivated by the Green Paper on Audit Policy, published by the European Commission in 2010 that questions whether the maximum fee collected from a client should be regulated and whether consecutive assignments should be limited, among others. Contrary to popular belief, this essay does not find evidence that audit fees and long auditor tenure will jeopardise auditor independence. Therefore, the findings do not support policies to regulate auditor fees or limit auditor tenure in Finland. The third essay aims to examine the effect of client intimidation on auditor independence in an audit-client conflict situation. Intimidation threat is one of five independence threats that are explicitly referenced in the IFAC’s independence framework. Client intimidation was manifested in the client threatening to replace the auditor if the auditor did not adopt the client’s position. In addition, this essay examines the role of auditor’s perceived pressure and multi-dimensions of professional commitment as moderator variables. The findings suggest that auditors who experience client intimidation in an audit conflict situation are more likely to have their independence impaired than those who are in a similar situation but without client intimidation. Moreover, auditors who experience client intimidation perceive higher pressure than those who do not experience intimidation. Finally, auditors’ affective and continuance professional commitment dimensions moderate the relationship between auditors’ perceived pressures and auditor independence. The aim of the fourth essay is twofold. First, it aims to develop a scale for measuring auditors’ reputation awareness. Second, it aims to examine the correlation between the levels of auditor reputation awareness and auditor independence. A seven-item scale was developed as the reputation awareness scale. The findings indicate that the scale consists of one dimension. It also has a level of satisfactory reliability and a high level of validity. The findings show that there is a positive correlation between the level of auditors’ reputation awareness and auditor independence.

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The theme of this thesis is context-speci c independence in graphical models. Considering a system of stochastic variables it is often the case that the variables are dependent of each other. This can, for instance, be seen by measuring the covariance between a pair of variables. Using graphical models, it is possible to visualize the dependence structure found in a set of stochastic variables. Using ordinary graphical models, such as Markov networks, Bayesian networks, and Gaussian graphical models, the type of dependencies that can be modeled is limited to marginal and conditional (in)dependencies. The models introduced in this thesis enable the graphical representation of context-speci c independencies, i.e. conditional independencies that hold only in a subset of the outcome space of the conditioning variables. In the articles included in this thesis, we introduce several types of graphical models that can represent context-speci c independencies. Models for both discrete variables and continuous variables are considered. A wide range of properties are examined for the introduced models, including identi ability, robustness, scoring, and optimization. In one article, a predictive classi er which utilizes context-speci c independence models is introduced. This classi er clearly demonstrates the potential bene ts of the introduced models. The purpose of the material included in the thesis prior to the articles is to provide the basic theory needed to understand the articles.

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Référence bibliographique : Rol, 59902

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Référence bibliographique : Rol, 59904

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UANL

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La réadaptation des personnes âgées ayant subi un accident vasculaire cérébral vise à améliorer les capacités et l’indépendance dans les activités de la vie courante. Les personnes âgées reprennent leurs rôles sociaux lorsqu’elles retournent vivre dans la communauté. L’objectif de ce mémoire est de clarifier la relation entre l’indépendance dans les activités de la vie courante au congé de la réadaptation intensive et la reprise des rôles sociaux six mois plus tard. L’échantillon se compose de 111 participants recrutés au congé et réévalués 6 mois plus tard. L’indépendance dans les activités de la vie courante est mesurée avec les sections pertinentes du Système de Mesure de l’Autonomie Fonctionnelle (SMAF). Les rôles sociaux sont mesurés avec la Mesure des Habitudes de Vie (MHAVIE); un score total ainsi que 4 sous-scores pour les responsabilités civiles, la vie communautaire, les relations interpersonnelles et les loisirs sont générés. Des analyses de régression hiérarchique sont utilisées pour vérifier l’association entre les activités de la vie courantes (variable indépendante) et les rôles sociaux (variables dépendante) tout en contrôlant pour les capacités (variables de contrôle). Les résultats suggèrent des associations significatives (p < .001) entre les activités de la vie courante et les rôles sociaux (score total de la MHAVIE), les sous scores des responsabilités civiles et de la vie communautaire, mais aucune association avec les relations interpersonnelles et les loisirs. Les scores les plus faibles sont obtenus pour les loisirs. Une deuxième phase de réadaptation après le retour à domicile pourrait permettre le développement des loisirs.

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CXCR4, a chemokine receptor involved in metastasis and homing of hematopoietic stem cells, signals through two major pathways: Gαi and β-arrestin2. β-arrestin2 terminates G-protein signaling and targets the receptor to endocytosis. This project proposed to study the effect of a previously described set of CXCR4 mutants on both these signaling pathways, as well as their localization. These mutants were assayed by different Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (BRET) systems. Using these systems, we confirmed that N119S is a constitutively active mutant (CAM), spontaneously activating Gαi. As well, we found that R134A is a constitutively inactive mutant (CIM), devoided of G-protein signaling, but spontaneously recruiting β-arrestin2. In addition, we studied the dependency of β-arrestin2 recruitment on the Gαi activity. By targeting R134A and N119S with pertussis toxin, an inhibitor of the Gαi activation, we showed efficient blocking of the Gαi pathway, while maintaining the constitutive recruitment of β-arrestin2. This demonstrated that for CXCR4, β-arrestin2 recruitment is independent of the Gαi pathway. Finally, two synthetic ligands of CXCR4, AMD3100 and TC14012 were tested for their ability to recruit β-arrestin2. AMD3100 is a clinically approved drug used for stem cell transplantation, with considerable side effects. We found it to be an antagonist on both Gαi and β-arrestin2 recruitment. On the other hand, TC14012 was found to be an inverse agonist on Gαi and an antagonist on β-arrestin2 recruitment. Based on this finding, it would be preferable to use of TC14012 as it will further reduce any basal Gαi activity, without affecting β-arrestin2 recruitment. These results support the development of TC14012 for stem cell mobilization trials.

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