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Abstract The purpose of this study was to empirically verify the existence or not of a distortion in the comparability of information when inflationary effects are omitted from financial statements. Although inflation has been under control in Brazil since the Plano Real, with indices well below those recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, discussing the need for accounting recognition of the effects of inflation remains an extremely relevant and pertinent issue in light of the proposal of accounting to produce faithful information that closely reflects the economic reality in which organizations operate. The results of the research show that financial accounting has been directly affected by the omission of inflationary effects in financial statements, drawing attention to the negative effects this has caused on the quality of the information produced. In order to operationalize the research, the Balance Sheet Monetary Correction (BSMC) was applied to the balance sheets of Brazilian companies from the siderurgical and metallurgical sector listed on the BM&FBOVESPA in the period from 1996 to 2016. Based on the variables net income, return on equity (ROE), and return on assets (ROA), and two conceptual axes of comparability (between entities and between periods), the statistical parameters were developed and the hypotheses were defined, which were tested using the Student t parametric test. This article shows the damage caused to the decision-making process of the external users for whom financial statements are intended when these are prepared neglecting the effects of inflation. This is verifiable through the analyses of the results obtained, including the observation of significant distortions between the means of the corrected indicators and the means of the historical indicators, such as in the case of net income in 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016 (33.98%, 91.92%, -65.54%, -30.01%, -53.59%, and 26.30% variation, respectively), of ROE (-67.16%, -61.43%, -53.06%, -63.46%, -133.81%, and 65.00% variations in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015, respectively), and of ROA (-26,70%, -41.14%, -33,34%, -43,49%, 98,83%, and -413,68% in 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, respectively). Resumo O estudo teve por objetivo verificar empiricamente a existência ou não de distorção da comparabilidade da informação, quando omitidos os efeitos inflacionários nas demonstrações contábeis. Apesar de o Brasil vivenciar, desde o Plano Real, um cenário de inflação sob controle, com índices bem aquém dos registrados nas décadas de 1980 e 1990, discutir sobre a necessidade do reconhecimento contábil dos efeitos da inflação permanece como uma questão extremamente relevante e pertinente, em face da proposta da contabilidade de produzir informações fidedignas que reflitam o mais próximo à realidade econômica na qual operam as organizações. Os resultados da pesquisa evidenciam que a contabilidade financeira tem sido diretamente afetada pela omissão dos efeitos inflacionários nas demonstrações contábeis, chamando a atenção para os efeitos negativos causados à qualidade das informações por ela produzidas. Para operacionalização da pesquisa, aplicou-se, aos balanços de empresas brasileiras do subsetor de siderurgia e metalurgia listadas na Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo, no período de 1996 a 2016, a correção monetária de balanços (CMB). A partir das variáveis lucro líquido, retorno sobre o patrimônio líquido (return on equity - ROE) e retorno sobre ativos (return on assets - ROA) e de dois eixos conceituais de comparabilidade (entre empresas e entre períodos), foram desenvolvidos os parâmetros estatísticos e definidas as hipóteses, as quais foram testadas por meio do teste paramétrico t de Student. A pesquisa mostra o prejuízo causado ao processo de tomada de decisão dos usuários externos, a quem se destinam as demonstrações contábeis quando estas são preparadas, desprezando-se os efeitos da inflação. Tal prejuízo é verificável pelas análises dos resultados obtidos, dentre as quais a observação de relevantes distorções entre as médias dos indicadores corrigidos e as médias dos indicadores históricos, como o caso do lucro líquido em 2001, 2002, 2012, 2013, 2014 e 2016 (33,98, 91,92, -65,54, -30,01, -53,59 e 26,30% de variação, respectivamente), do ROE (-67,16, -61,43, -53,06, -63,46, -133,81 e 65% de variações em 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 e 2015, respectivamente) e do ROA (-26,70, -41,14, -33,34, -43,49, 98,83 e -413,68% em 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 e 2014, respectivamente).

RESUMO Ao implantar o Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital (SPED), a administração tributária brasileira buscou ampliar a percepção de risco subjetivo entre os contribuintes, e reduzir a brecha fiscal. Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo verificar se a implementação do SPED Contábil teve influência sobre os resultados econômico-financeiros declarados pelas empresas (lucro líquido legal e faturamento bruto). A hipótese nula da pesquisa - ausência de relação entre essas variáveis - foi testada por meio de um modelo de regressão com dados em painel. A amostra foi selecionada a partir da lista das 500 maiores empresas do banco de dados da revista Exame Melhores e Maiores. Foram coletados os dados referentes às demonstrações financeiras dessas empresas relativas aos anos-calendário de 2004 a 2009. As regressões foram efetuadas por meio de modelos com efeitos aleatórios, com a utilização de painéis desbalanceados. O SPED Contábil apresentou significância nos modelos de regressão do faturamento bruto e lucro líquido legal, permitindo a rejeição da hipótese nula. Por fim, de acordo com os modelos de análise da sonegação fiscal expostos na revisão bibliográfica, considerando-se que o SPED Contábil aumenta a eficácia e a eficiência dos mecanismos de auditoria da administração tributária, esperava-se um incremento nos resultados econômico-financeiros declarados pelas empresas integrantes da amostra, o que foi confirmado na pesquisa.

By deploying the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED), tax administration seeks to increase the subjective perception of risk between taxpayers and reduce the tax gap. The objective of this research is to verify whether the implementation of Accounting SPED had an influence on the economic and financial results declared by companies (gross revenue and net profit). The null hypothesis of the research - the lack of relationship between these variables - was tested through the regression model with panel data. The sample was selected from the 500 largest companies listed in the database Best and Biggest, by Exame Melhores e Maiores magazine. The data collected comprise financial statements of these companies on the calendar years 2004 to 2009. Regression models were estimated using random effects, with unbalanced panels. The Accounting SPED showed significance in all regression models of gross revenue and net profit, allowing the rejection of the null hypothesis of no relationship between these variables. Finally, according to the analysis models of tax evasion exposed in the literature review, considering that the Accounting SPED increases the effectiveness and efficiency of auditing mechanisms of the tax administration, an increase on the economic and financial results declared by companies of the sample was expected, which was confirmed in research. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

By deploying the Public Digital Bookkeeping System (SPED), tax administration seeks to increase the subjective perception of risk between taxpayers and reduce the tax gap. The objective of this research is to verify whether the implementation of Accounting SPED had an influence on the economic and financial results declared by companies (gross revenue and net profit). The null hypothesis of the research--the lack of relationship between these variables--was tested through the regression model with panel data. The sample was selected from the 500 largest companies listed in the database Best and Biggest, by Exame Melhores e Maiores magazine. The data collected comprise financial statements of these companies on the calendar years 2004 to 2009. Regression models were estimated using random effects, with unbalanced panels. The Accounting SPED showed significance in all regression models of gross revenue and net profit, allowing the rejection of the null hypothesis of no relationship between these variables. Finally, according to the analysis models of tax evasion exposed in the literature review, considering that the Accounting SPED increases the effectiveness and efficiency of auditing mechanisms of the tax administration, an increase on the economic and financial results declared by companies of the sample was expected, which was confirmed in research.

Controllership and Information Technology provide ways for companies to adapt to the competitive context of business environments. As such, the aim of this research is to identify and analyze the impacts of ERP systems on Controllership functions, verifying the relationships between the use of solutions and possible improvements in such functions. The need for management control and operations control were observed. This research is descriptive and exploratory of the survey kind. The subjects mentioned in this research are managers involved in Controllership activities in large companies from the Auto Parts sector in the State of São Paulo. The data obtained through a questionnaire by non-probabilistic samples were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics. According to the subjects, ERP systems modify Controllership functions and better serve the control needs of the operations. The results showed problems to be overcome in management control.

High-throughput genotyping methods have increased the analytical power to study complex traits but high cost has remained a barrier for large scale use in animal improvement. We have adapted genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) used in plants for genotyping 47 animals representing 7 taurine and indicine breeds of cattle from the US and Africa. Genomic DNA was digested with different enzymes, ligated to adapters containing one of 48 unique bar codes and sequenced by the Illumina HiSeq 2000. PstI was the best enzyme producing 1.4 million unique reads per animal and initially identifying a total of 63,697 SNPs. After removal of SNPs with call rates of less than 70%, 51,414 SNPs were detected throughout all autosomes with an average distance of 48.1 kb, and 1,143 SNPs on the X chromosome at an average distance of 130.3 kb, as well as 191 on unmapped contigs. If we consider only the SNPs with call rates of 90% and over, we identified 39,751 on autosomes, 850 on the X chromosome and 124 on unmapped contigs. Of these SNPs, 28,843 were not tightly linked to other SNPs. Average marker density per autosome was highly correlated with chromosome size (coefficient of correlation = -0.798, r(2) = 0.637) with higher density in smaller chromosomes. Average SNP call rate was 86.5% for all loci, with 53.0% of the loci having call rates >90% and the average minor allele frequency being 0.212. Average observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.046-0.294 among individuals, and from 0.064-0.197 among breeds, with Brangus showing the highest diversity as expected. GBS technique is novel, flexible, sufficiently high-throughput, and capable of providing acceptable marker density for genomic selection or genome-wide association studies at roughly one third of the cost of currently available genotyping technologies.

Usher syndrome type 1 F (USH1F), caused by mutations in the protocadherin-15 gene ( PCDH15 ), is characterized by congenital deafness, lack of balance, and progressive blindness. In hair cells, the receptor cells of the inner ear, PCDH15 is a component of tip links, fine filaments which pull open mechanosensory transduction channels. A simple gene addition therapy for USH1F is challenging because the PCDH15 coding sequence is too large for adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. We use rational, structure-based design to engineer mini-PCDH15s in which 3–5 of the 11 extracellular cadherin repeats are deleted, but which still bind a partner protein. Some mini-PCDH15s can fit in an AAV. An AAV encoding one of these, injected into the inner ears of mouse models of USH1F, produces a mini-PCDH15 which properly forms tip links, prevents the degeneration of hair cell bundles, and rescues hearing. Mini-PCDH15s may be a useful therapy for the deafness of USH1F. Mutations in PCDH15 cause deafness and blindness in Usher syndrome 1 F, but gene therapy is difficult because the PCDH15 sequence is too large for AAV vectors. Here, the authors engineered a miniPCDH15 that fits in AAV and rescues hearing in mouse Usher syndrome 1F models.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the frequency and barriers to use of ultrasound guidance for central venous catheter (CVC) insertion by physicians specializing in critical care and hospital medicine. A national cross-sectional electronic survey of intensivists and hospitalists was administered from November 2014 to January 2015. The survey response rate was 5.9% (1013/17 233). Moderate to very frequent use of ultrasound guidance varied by site: internal jugular vein (80%), subclavian vein (31%), and femoral vein (45%). Nearly all physicians (99%) who insert internal jugular CVCs daily use ultrasound guidance, whereas only 46% of physicians who insert subclavian CVCs daily use ultrasound guidance. Use of real-time ultrasound guidance varied by insertion site: internal jugular vein (73%), subclavian vein (28%), and femoral vein (42%). Most physicians (59%) reported not being comfortable with real-time needle tracking at the subclavian site. The most frequently reported barriers to use of ultrasound guidance were (1) limited availability of ultrasound equipment (28%), (2) perception of increased total procedure time (22%), and (3) concern for loss of landmark skills (13%). Most intensivists routinely use ultrasound guidance to insert internal jugular CVCs but not subclavian CVCs. The most commonly reported barrier to ultrasound use was limited access to an ultrasound machine.

Paul Brennan and colleagues perform genome-wide association analysis for oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in trans-ancestry populations. They find seven new loci across different cancer subtypes, including a protective association in the HLA region that has a stronger effect in patients with human papillomavirus–positive cancers. We conducted a genome-wide association study of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. We detected eight significantly associated loci ( P < 5 × 10 −8 ), seven of which are new for these cancer sites. Oral and pharyngeal cancers combined were associated with loci at 6p21.32 (rs3828805, HLA-DQB1 ), 10q26.13 (rs201982221, LHPP ) and 11p15.4 (rs1453414, OR52N2 – TRIM5 ). Oral cancer was associated with two new regions, 2p23.3 (rs6547741, GPN1 ) and 9q34.12 (rs928674, LAMC3 ), and with known cancer-related loci—9p21.3 (rs8181047, CDKN2B-AS1 ) and 5p15.33 (rs10462706, CLPTM1L ). Oropharyngeal cancer associations were limited to the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, and classical HLA allele imputation showed a protective association with the class II haplotype HLA-DRB1*1301–HLA-DQA1*0103–HLA-DQB1*0603 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.59, P = 2.7 × 10 −9 ). Stratified analyses on a subgroup of oropharyngeal cases with information available on human papillomavirus (HPV) status indicated that this association was considerably stronger in HPV-positive (OR = 0.23, P = 1.6 × 10 −6 ) than in HPV-negative (OR = 0.75, P = 0.16) cancers.