The Clinical Issue of Patient Handover Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Clinical Issue of Patient Handover - Essay Example (2007). Patient-Centered Perspectives on Communication and Handover between the Emergency Department and General Internal Medicine. At the end of the introduction, the author is trying to tell us that errors in caregiving can have side effects. The methods used are listed in a separate section as follow up questions, where they are exposed importantly. The method of focus groups is compatible with the naturalistic paradigm of qualitative research. The research direction is used, though not mentioned in the introduction. It would be justified to assume a lack of flow in the research in connection with the absence of such necessary information in a research paper. The research addresses the following questions: What are the procedures for patients hand over? Who is responsible for the recording and paperwork of the process? How private is the handed over information about the patient? Are there legal practices that are observed? In the introduction to the literature review, the author shows that previous studies have shown that the reduction of staff may increase the adverse effects for the patient. The topics include personnel expenses, the food, the risk of malnutrition, the benefits of walking and problems after discharge. Items and results are described and presented in a logical and organized manner. The results that were missing in the questions follow the framework of the education and training Studies. There are no items included as a visual aid to complete the research findings. The materials used are mainly nursing journals and other primary sources. Numerous topics including creation of  a stable framework for this study. A research gap was identified for nursing as a career field. The author shows the need for further studies in this area. The data collection procedures are clearly indicated in the section on the data analysis, and other researchers could easily replicate it. Topics and results are described and presented in a logical and

Hagia Sophia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Hagia Sophia - Research Paper Example It was built by the first Christian emperor, Constantine, who was also the founder of the city Constantinople. This he built including other several great churches during his emperor. After the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, it was converted to become one of the principal mosques of Istanbul. Its influence became widespread and that which lasted lasting both in the architecturally and liturgically spheres. A bit of some history of the Hagia Sophia indicated that the building had first been constructed in a Christian capital and was then referred to as the church of the holy wisdom. It then represented the epicenter of the Christian churches and a series of their cults. It became first inaugurated in the February of 360 under the reign of Constantious II. After some time this first basilica was destroyed in Nika riots leading to a construction of the second Hagia Sophia. This was then built by the emperor Justinian with the help and experience of two architects, Anthemius and Isidore the Elder. They made the use of a lot of precious materials which were brought in from all corners of the Empire. This included some columns which were brought from the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. It was then crowned with a dome. The building was constructed in much haste and was completed in less than six years. Its walls were covered either with marble or in lavish mosaics that consisted of the most ex quisite color and workmanship. This new Hagia Sophia was inaugurated on December 27th, 537, five years after the work started. Over the years, it suffered a lot of damages leading to the partial collapse of some of its structural elements. The dome roof that was supported using a system of piers particularly provided the major challenge and collapsed after some decades. It was later reconstructed adding some supports and its shape in particular made the building look magnificent (Aydoğmus, Tahsin and Kleinbauer 22) In 1453, after the ending of the

2D Guidance in Minimally Invasive Procedures

2D Guidance in Minimally Invasive Procedures Research Strategy (a) SIGNIFICANCE: The use of two-dimensional (2D) Ultrasound (US) guidance in minimally invasive procedures such as percutaneous biopsies,1,2 pain management,3,4 abscess drainages,5 and radiofrequency ablation6 has gained popularity. These procedures all involve insertion of a needle towards a desired anatomical target. Image-guidance facilitates localization of the needle throughout the procedure, increasing accuracy, reliability and safety.7 US offers several advantages over other imaging modalities traditionally used in interventional radiology such as fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT): It provides real-time visualization of the patients anatomy (including soft tissue and blood vessels) vis-à  -vis the needle, without exposure to ionizing radiation.8 Additionally, being portable and low cost (compared to other imaging modalities) are the added advantages of US imaging. Despite these advantages, the effectiveness of 2D US in needle guidance is highly operator dependent. In the in-plane approach, where needle shaft is parallel to the imaging plane, the needle shaft and tip should ideally be continually visible.9 However, aligning the needle shaft with the scan plane is difficult. Even when the needle is properly aligned, steep orientation (required in most procedures) of the needle with respect to the US beam causes nonaxial specular reflection of the US signal off the needle surface due to a large angle of incidence.10 In this imaging condition, the needle shaft will appear discontinuous and/or the tip will be invisible. This scenario is common with deep targets, for example during liver biopsies and epidural blocks. The challenge of needle visibility at increasing depths is compounded by attenuation of the US signal. Further, high intensity soft tissue artifacts, acoustic shadowing from dense structures such as bone and speckle noise obstruct needl e visibility. To recover needle visibility, clinicians conduct transducer manipulation by translation or rotation, movement of the needle to and fro (pump maneuver),11 stylet movement, needle rotation, and hydrolocation.12 These techniques are variable and subjective. An invisible needle can have detrimental effects on procedures, for example, reduced procedure efficacy, increase in procedure duration, neural, visceral or vascular injury, and infection. Diagnostic accuracy of 90-95% has been reported for US guided breast biopsies,13-15 and 83-95% for US guided liver biopsies.16 It is known that targeting errors due to insufficient needle tip visualization contribute to false negative results.17 In pain management, accidental intraneural injections have been reported in 17% of ultrasound-guided upper- and lower-extremity blocks, even when the procedures were conducted by expert anesthesiologists.18,19 Most of these arise because of poor needle tip localization, which makes it difficu lt to distinguish between subfascial, subepineural, or intrafascicular injections.20 In our ongoing work, we have developed an algorithm for needle enhancement and tip localization in 2D US. This, we achieved by modelling transmission of the US signal.21 We incorporated US signal modeling into an optimization problem to estimate an unknown signal transmission map, which was then used to enhance the needle shaft and tip while considering US specific signal propagation constraints.22 Automatic tip localization was achieved using spatially distributed image statistics limited to the trajectory region. However, incorrect tip localization occurred when high intensity soft tissue interfaces were present along the needle trajectory. The algorithm also required a visible portion of the shaft close to the transducer surface, necessitating proper alignment of the needle with the scan plane. We have also conducted preliminary work on needle detection and enhancement in three-dimensional (3D) US, a modality with potential to obviate the limitations of 2D US in needle guidance. Instead of the latters planar view (one slice at a time), 3D US displays volume data, allowing better visualization of anatomy and needle trajectory at all needle axis orientations. This alleviates the challenge of needle alignment in the scan plane.23 Nevertheless, needle obliquity at steep insertion angles, depth dependent attenuation, as well as acoustic shadowing, imaging artifacts and speckle remain.24,25 Needle visibility is also affected by low dimension of the needle with respect to the US volume. In fact, reported false-negative results for breast biopsies under 3D US show no improvement over those with 2D US.26,27. Consequently, 3D US has not replaced 2D US as the standard of care. To overcome the limitations, researchers have proposed computational methods for needle enhancement and local ization in 3D US. These include: Principal component analysis based on eigen-decomposition,28 the 3D Hough transform,29 the 3D Radon transform,30 parallel integration projection,31 and iterative model-fitting methods such as random sample consensus (RANSAC)32. The accuracy of these methods is affected by attenuation and high intensity artifacts. Besides, computational complexity arises from processing the large amount of volume data.33 Projection based methods fail when a good portion of the shaft is not visible and the tip intensity is low. A more robust needle localization framework based on oscillation of a stylus was recently proposed, although it fails in a single operator scenario, especially for shallow angles.34 All the mentioned methods are based on modeling B-mode image data. The current need, in interventional radiology for needle guidance, is a cost-effective, easy to use, non-radiation based real-time imaging platform with an ability of providing continuous guidance with high accuracy during needle insertion without intercepting the clinical workflow. Our long-term goal of developing a computational 3D US based imaging platform for enhancement and localization of needles is informed by this need. To address this pressing need, we hypothesize that automatic, real-time, accurate, and continuous target identification using 3D radiofrequency (RF) US data is feasible and potentially could be used to provide guidance during interventional radiology for needle insertion.Our preliminary work on modeling US signal transmission in 2D US, as well as needle detection and enhancement in 3D US, are strongly supportive that modeling the RF US signal coupled with advanced reconstruction methods will improve needle visualization and localization in 3D US. The envisaged 3D US reconstruction techniques will incorporate emerging work from machine learning and advanced beamforming to achieve needle enhancement and localization. We envision new pathways of processing and presenting US data, which should make this rich modality ubiquitous to all end-users for needle guidance in interventional radiology. The impact of the proposal will be multiplied since the developed algorithms, using open-source software platform, can also be incorporated as a stand-alone component into existing US imaging platforms. (b) INNOVATION: Previous work on needle enhancement has mostly been focused on enhancement of B-mode images. B-mode images are derived from RF data (the raw signal backscattered onto the US transducer) after several proprietary processing steps. The raw signal is known to contain more statistical information35 which is lost along the processing pipeline. Parallel integral projection in order improve needle visibility in soft tissues using 2D and 3D RF data has previously been investigated although no image visualization, needle enhancement or localization was demonstrated.36 It has been shown that the post-beamformed 2D RF signal allows for a more improved enhancement of local features in US images. 37,38 Image enhancement methods applied to RF signal have also shown to produce improved display of orientation of a biopsy needle.37,38 This study is innovative in three respects: 1) To the best of our knowledge, it is the first to investigate needle enhancement and localization from 3D pre-beamformed RF data (previous approaches were using post-beamformed RF information). 2) The utilization of machine learning approaches, such as deep learning for needle enhancement in 3D US will be a first. 3) Although this pilot will focus on validating the developed framework on pain management and liver biopsy procedures as a case study, the new mathematical and computational approaches proposed in this work will lead to developments that can easily be adopted for enhancement and localization of needles in other interventional radiology procedures. We expect that the achieved results will lead in gradual adoption of 3D US as the standard of care in problematic minimally invasive procedures where 2D US is challenged, thus improving therapeutic and diagnostic value, reducing morbidity and optimizing patient safety. (c) APPROACH: We propose to test the hypothesis that needle detection, enhancement and localization based on the raw 3D RF signal will provide a more accurate and robust platform for needle guidance than current state of the art. The basis for this hypothesis is found by precedent in the use of the RF signal for bone localization,39 and our published21,22 and unpublished work on needle enhancement and localization based on 2D/3D B-mode image data. This preliminary data is presented below. Preliminary work 1 Modeling 2D US signal transmission for Needle Shaft and Tip Enhancement When the US signal pulses are sent by the transducer into tissue, they undergo reflection, scattering, absorption and refraction. These phenomena all contribute to attenuation; the loss in intensity of the US pulses as they travel deeper into tissue. Attenuation is responsible for non-conspicuity of the needle tip and shaft at increasing depths. Previously, we have shown that modeling signal transmission in 2D US based on 2D image data, while considering depth-dependent attenuation leads to enhancement of the needle and more accurate tip localization.21 The modelling framework yields signal transmission maps, which are then used in an image-based contextual regularization process to achieve tip and shaft enhancement (Fig.1). A tip localization accuracy of mm was achieved in ex vivo tissue. However, the localization accuracy is lower when soft tissue interfaces are present along the needle trajectory, and when the needle is not properly aligned in the scan plane. In the context of th is proposal, our objective is to apply similar US signal modeling and contextual regularization, this time based on RF data. Preliminary work 2 Machine learning approaches for needle detection and enhancement in 3D US Since 3D US is multiplanar, the challenge associated with needle alignment in the scan plane is partially eliminated when it is used in needle guidance.   Nevertheless, 3D US is also affected by US signal attenuation. Previous methods proposed for needle enhancement and localization in 3D US did not address this need. In addition, most were computationally demanding because of the requirement to process the entire US volume. In this work (results submitted to 20th MICCAI conference, 2017), we have developed a learning-based method for automatic needle detection in 3D US volumes. The pixel-wise classifier generates a sub-volume containing only slices with needle information. In so doing, computational complexity on the subsequent enhancement and localization algorithms is reduced (Fig.2). The tip is automatically localized in 3D. We achieved 88% detection precision, 98% recall rate, a slice classification time of 0.06 seconds, a localization accuracy of mm, and a training time of 1 5 seconds. Figure 2. Learning based needle detection, enhancement and localization in 3D US. Top row: an example of needle detection. Here, the original volume contained 41 slices, and the classifier identified only 7 containing needle data. Bottom row: The enhancement process on the sub-volume. Left, enhanced intensity projection image. Middle, automatically localized tip (red) displayed on the relevant axial slice. The blue cross is the manually localized tip. Right, trajectory estimation indicated by the green line. Specific Aim 1. To develop RF-signal modeling algorithms for improved 3D US image reconstruction For this aim, we hypothesize that adaptive beamforming methods applied to pre-beamformed 3D RF data will enhance needle visibility and improve quality of US volumes. During the formation of an US image, the reflected US signals are received by the transducer elements at different time points due to varying signal travel distances. Beamforming on each scan line is meant to establish signal synchronism before aggregation. The conventional method of beamforming in both 2D and 3D US is delay and sum (DAS). Here, received signals are electronically delayed, followed by application of a beamformer whose weights are reliant on echo signals, leading to undesirable wide main-lobe and high side-lobe levels resulting in imaging artifacts, thus decreasing the image resolution and contrast. 40 In this architecture, the angular resolution is dependent on the length of the scan aperture and the fixed operating frequency.41 In a fixed hardware configuration, these parameters cannot be increased, hen ce resolution cannot be improved. To overcome this challenge, adaptive beamforming methods based on minimum variance42-45 and multi-beam covariance matrices46 have been proposed. Using adaptive beamformers signal detection can be maximized while minimizing the beam-width and side lobe artifacts.47,48 Recently, phase factor beamforming, where phase variations are tracked across the receive aperture domain, has been shown to improve the appearance of bone surfaces from 2D US data49. Bone features, similar to needle features, are hyper-echoic when imaged with US. Therefore, during this aim we will develop an adaptive phase-factor beamforming method in order to enhance the hyper-echoic targets such as the needle from 3D pre-beamformed RF data. Specifically, adaptive beamformer that combines ideas from Minimum Variance (MV) adaptive beamforming,50 signal regularization based on statistical information in RF data,51 and Toeplitz structure covariance matrices52 to minimize computational co mplexity will be investigated. It is expected that this reconstruction technique will adapt the data to the clinical application of needle enhancement through improving image resolution, contrast, and speckle suppression. The algorithms will be incorporated into an open source imaging platform for real-time data collection and processing.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Overall, we expect that the algorithms developed in Aim 1 will allow enhanced representation of US needle data with increased diagnostic value. The images obtained from this aim will be used as an input to the algorithms proposed in Aim2. Specific Aim 2. To develop methods for needle enhancement and tip localization in 3D US images Our working hypothesis for this aim is that learning based approaches for needle detection coupled with image reconstruction methods in 3D US will achieve improved needle enhancement and tip localization. In our previous work, we have shown that a linear learning based pixel classifier for needle data in 3D US, based on local phase based image projections, improves needle enhancement and reduces computational load.   The detector utilizes Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG)53 descriptors extracted from local phase projections and a linear support vector machine (SVM) baseline classifier. Recently, deep learning (convolutional neural network (CNN)) based image processing approaches have shown to produce very accurate results for segmentation of medical image data54. However, enhancement or segmentation of needles from US data using convolutional neural networks has not been investigated yet.   Therefore, for during this aim we will develop a needle enhancement and segmentation m ethod using convolutional neural networks. Needle images with various insertions angles and depths will be labeled by an expert radiologist. Our clinical collaborator Dr. Nosher and several radiologists from RWJMH will be involved during this labeling process. We will use two different datasets during the labeling process. The first data set will be retrospective US images downloaded from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Hospital (RWJMH) database. Specific focus will be given to liver biopsy and epidural management procedures where US has been used to guide the needle insertion and biopsy procedure. The second data set will involve collecting needle US scans using ex vivo tissue samples as the imaging medium. These scans will be collected at the PIs laboratory using an open source platform US machine with 3D imaging capabilities. The collected ex vivo data will be enhanced using the beamforming methods developed in Aim 1.   Labeling process will involve manual identification of the needle tip and shaft from the two datasets. A fully convolutional neural network54 will be trained using the labeled data. The architecture of this network does not require extensive data sets in order to train the network and yields high segmentation results. Previously this approach was used for segmenting cell structures54. The output of this operation, which will be a fuzzy 3D probability map (high probability regions corresponding to needle interface), will be used as an input to our previously developed needle tip localization method. The automatically identified needle tips will be compared against the manually identified needle tips. More details about the specific clinical data collection and validation are provided in Specific Aim 3 and Protection of Human Subjects. Overall, at the end of Aim 2 we expect to have a system providing continuous real-time monitoring of needle insertion using 3D US for improved guidance in interventional radiology procedures. Specific Aim 3. To validate the developed imaging platform on clinical data To validate the algorithms developed in Aims 1-2, we plan to perform extensive validation on ex vivo and clinical data. No clinical trial will be conducted during this proposal. Our initial validation will be limited to epidural administration and liver biopsy procedures. Ex vivo data: This study will be conducted for validating Aims 1-2. US scans will be collected from two different needles: 1-) A general 17-gauge Tuohy epidural needle (Arrow International,Reading, PA, USA),   and 2-) 18-gauge biopince full core liver biopsy needle (Argon Medical devices, Athens, Texas, USA). The needles will be inserted at varying insertion angles (300−700) and depths (up to 12 cm). Ex vivo porcine, bovine, liver, kidney and chicken tissue samples will be used as the imaging medium. 3Dpre-beamformed RF data will be collected using a SonixTouch US system (Analogic Corporation, Peabody, MA, USA) equipped with the 3D phased array transducer. The US machine, provides an open-source research interface allowing for custom-made applications directly run on the machine, and the 3D transducers. The image resolution for different depth settings will vary from 0.1mm to 0.3mm. In total, we will collect 300 different 3D US scans for each tissue sample (making the total n umber equal to 1500 3D US scans). The collected scans will be enhanced using algorithms developed in Aim1. From the enhanced data, our clinical collaborators will manually identify the needle tips. Three different radiologist, with varying expertise, will be involved during the validation process in order to calculate the inter-user variability error. We will also ask the same users to repeat the needle tip identification process after two weeks to assess the intra-user variability error. The labeled data will be used in order to train the CNN proposed in Aim2. For testing the CNN algorithm, we will collect additional new 500 US scans. The manually identified needle tip locations, from the new dataset, will be compared to the automatically extracted needle tip locations obtained from the algorithms developed in Aims1-2. Euclidean distance error between the two tip locations (manual vs automated) will be calculated for quantitative validation. Clinical data: This study will involve collection of retrospective US data from patients who are enrolled for a liver biopsy or epidural administration as part of their standard of care. Women and minorities will be appropriately represented in the recruited patients. Sex or race will not play a role as an inclusion or exclusion criteria. Specific focus will be given to patients who are 21 years and older and require a liver biopsy or epidural administration. All the US data and the patient information (age, sex, height, weight, and laboratory data) will be assigned a non-identifying alpha-numeric code that will ensure that the risk of re-identification of participants from the acquired data is not possible. Additional information is included in the Protection of Human Subjects. In total, we will collect 1600 different US scans, from 400 patients. For labeling (manual tip and needle shaft localization) in order to train the CNN method developed in Aim2 we will use 1200 scans. During testing, 400 US scans, not part of the training dataset, will be used. Again expert radiologist will be involved during labeling and testing procedures for tip and shaft identification. Error calculations will involve calculating Euclidean distance between the two tip locations (manual vs automated).

Comparing Dover Beach and Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Essay

A Comparison of the Victorian and Modernist Perceptions as Exemplified by Dover Beach and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock    Matthew Arnold and T.S. Eliot, in their respective poems, share a sense of alienation, not only from other people but from nature and God as well. Arnold is writing in an age when the place of man in the universe is coming into question, for the first time since the advent of Christianity. He can no longer take the same solace in nature and the love of God that his Romantic predecessors did. While Arnold comments on isolation, however, he still addresses himself to a lover in Dover Beach, whereas Prufrock is presented as a man who has completely retreated within himself. Eliot's isolation is total. In the industrialized age of Arnold, people no longer were able to look upon nature for inspiration; the unpopulated country of Wordsworth's time was no longer accessible to a centralized people. The increased pace of life and urban crowding obviated the Romantic's luxury of reflection in natural solitude. While the poet observes nature in Dover Beach, the experience is metaphorically useful, but not an end unto itself, nor does it bring any comfort. Rather, Arnold uses the futility that he sees in the ocean's tides to illustrate the fruitlessness of human endeavor. Although the sea appears calm [line 1], beneath the surface there is this almost cruel drama being played out, as the pebbles are dragged and flung by the waves and dragged back again, producing a "grating roar." [lines 9-12] The image of human beings as pebbles on the sand recurs in the third stanza, when Arnold refers to the "Sea of Faith" which has withdrawn and left the rocks exposed as "naked shingles." Eliot later a lso repudiates t... ...he colloquial almost instantaneously. Arnold's final paragraph serves a sort of summing-up of Dover Beach as a whole. At the conclusion of Prufrock, Eliot leaps into an apparently tangential thought about mermaids. It's not his job to explain what Prufrock is talking about. Eliot has turned the enigma of modern living into a poem, rather than using his work to provide an answer to the questions that humanity must deal with. Arnold seems to be mourning for a time past when people could look to faith for answers to questions of import. Eliot acknowledges that those days will never return and instead encourages the reader to apply a personal meaning to The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. Works Cited: T.S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 6th ed. Vol. 2. ed. M. H. Abrams New York, London: Norton, 1993.

Market Failure: Food Adulteration in Bangladesh

Market Failure * Adulteration in Food Industry Submitted to: Mr. Sheikh Morshed Jahan Associate Professor Course Instructor – Bangladesh Studies Submitted by: Samia Khan (RQ 16) Adel Mostaque Ahmed (ZR 22) Ahnaf Zabee (ZR 35) Rituraj Baidya (ZR 56) Institute of Business Administration University of Dhaka April 9, 2012 Table of Contents Market failure3 Food adulteration in Bangladesh3 Mouthwatering looks:4 Endurance:4 Examples of food adulteration5 The consequences:6 The awareness issue:6 Penalties7 The Solution8 Conclusion8 Market failureMarket failure is a concept within economic theory describing when the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not efficient. That is, there exists another conceivable outcome where a market participant may be made better off without making someone else worse-off. Market failures can be viewed as scenarios where individuals' pursuit of pure self-interest leads to results that are not efficient – that can be improved upon fr om the societal point-of-view. Food adulteration in Bangladesh Food adulteration is the process of adding chemical substances with foods, which should not be contained within food and beverages.Chemical substances or simply adulterants may be added to substances to reduce manufacturing costs, or for some deceptive or malicious purpose. When profit in business is more important than morality, then it is possible to add the poisoning contents to the foods and beverages. A limited number of people may die without foods but a large population has been suffering from complicated diseases related to food adulteration, which may be even lead to death in future. Adulterated food consuming is the waiting for death, which is a worse punishment than death.Food adulteration has become a major problem in Bangladesh. Vegetables, fish, milk, fruit, and sweetmeats nothing is safe, and is being sold in the market profusely. However, the adulteration that affects the consumers directly comes from res taurants. The restaurants are using toxic chemicals like formalin and textile dye stuffs in preserving foods, which play havoc in health system. Most of the country’s population, especially women and children would be the worst victim if the authorities fail to stop food adulteration.The number of people afflicted by cancer and other chronic diseases due to taking of adulterated foods has of late gone up to such an alarming level that some people have even stopped buying many essential nutritious foods and vegetables other than some basic food grains, for mere survival, that they assume are not adulterated. Mouthwatering looks: There is a special demand for fresh good-looking foods among customers and they are willing to pay extra just for the look. However, we need to be cautious because, Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) confirmed that wholesalers use several mechanisms to make foods attractive.In their study, it came out that in most cases the spices are mixed with brick dust, cumin is mixed with sawdust, and sugar syrup is added with honey to enhance the sweetness. Dishonest traders use a host of ingredients such as animal fat, palm oil, potato mash and vegetable oil to produce fake butter oil. In another study, the Food and Nutrition Institution, University of Dhaka6 have found alarming level of deadly bacteria like E-coli, Salmonella and Shigella bacteria in most of the restaurant food and street food in the city. Many street food vendors and restaurants recycle burnt cooking oil for frying food items.Once the oil is used for cooking, it becomes oxidized and its further use generates peroxide, which is very harmful for the human body. Endurance: It is a challenge to keep fresh produces, meats and fish for a longer time in Bangladesh. Most of the traders do not have freezing vans or climate control storage facility to ensure the quality of the food. However, many traders came up with unusual ideas to keep their products intact for longer tim e that pose a long-term health risk to the consumers. Restaurant owners use this technique to reduce their raw material purchasing cost.Often formaldehyde is sprayed to fruits and fishes to keep them fresh for longer duration. Some other examples of food adulteration Views about the proportion of adulterated food items on the market vary between 70 and 90 percent. More than 76 percent food items on the market were found adulterated in a random survey by Public Health Laboratory of Dhaka City Corporation in 2004. There are approximately 150 food items in the country, said SK Roy, a senior scientist at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B).Roy said that brick dust is applied in chili powder; urea is used to whiten rice and puffed rice; sawdust in loose tea; soap in Ghee; and artificial sweetener, coal tar, and textile dyes in sweetmeats. Formalin applied on fish, fruit, meat, and milk causes throat cancer, blood cancer, childhood asthma, and sk in diseases, he said. Poisonous coloring agents like aura mine, rhodomine B, malachite green, yellow G, allura red, and Sudan red applied on food items for coloring, brightness, and freshness — damage liver and kidney, and cause stomach cancer, asthma, and bladder cancer, said Roy.Coloring agents chrome, tartzine, and erythrosine are used in spices, sauces, juices, lentils, and oils — causing cancer, allergy, and respiratory problem. Calcium carbide may lead to cancer in kidney, liver, skin, prostate, and lungs. Rye flour used in barley, bread, and wheat flour contribute to convulsion and miscarriage. Hormone used in cauliflower causes infertility of women. Agino moto or monosodium glutamate used in Chinese restaurant food items cause nervous system disorder and depression. Urea put in puffed rice and rice causes nervous system damage and respiratory problem.Sulphuric acid used in milk for condensation causes damage to the cardiac system. Application of excessive and u nauthorized pesticides also cause contamination of food, he said adding that additives used for making food items attractive can be lethal if those are cancerous. However, some permitted preservatives, thickening agents, gelling agents, antioxidants, and stabilizers could be harmless if applied in appropriate quantity, said Roy. Food grains, vegetables, and fish also are contaminated by industrial pollution of the soil, air, and water, he said.Burnt engine oil is used to fry Jilapi, while artificial fragrance is applied on flours, said Khalil Ahmed, executive magistrate of Dhaka City Corporation, who operates a mobile court against adulterated foods in the capital. The consequences: The long-term consequences of consuming chemical treated food items will be devastating. The children would be the worst affected group among all if they eat chemical mixed food items. Formaldehyde causes various gastro-intestinal disorders if consumed for long.Most of the chemicals may result in long-te rm skin diseases, damage lungs and kidneys and some of them can develop cancers. BSTI revealed that about 1,000 drinking water factories exist in the country, only 400 of which have licenses from the BSTI. Bottlers of drinking water factories have mushroomed with little regard to compliance of standard or BSTI license. Despite BSTI cancelling the licenses of 139 bottling factories in the last 18 months, there has been news of setting up of new factories in new locations.The result: children and aged people are facing constant threat of diseases even with the bottled water produced by these factories. The awareness issue: The depressing part is that most of the traders or producers using chemicals in foods are not aware of its long-term impact on human body and surrounding environment. The only driver, which motivates them, is the additional income on sales. Many of them even do not know the name of the chemicals they are spraying on the foods to speed-up the ripening process. They j ust go to the pharmacy and they get the medicine without any permit.Besides, contaminated food once consumed does not result quickly in human body. Over time, these chemicals slowly turn a human body into an ideal host for deadly diseases and sometimes result in the development of cancer and other fatal diseases. Nevertheless, the government along with media is trying to improve the awareness condition with many activities. The most successful initiative to date was the anti adulteration drive led by a mobile court. This drive started back in 2007 with a team that included a magistrate, media partners and police.For two consecutive years, the drive was a success and the magistrate Rokon-Ud-Dowla became a celebrity. During that time, the mobile court unveiled most of the adulteration mechanisms used by traders and producers. Since the drive was not backed by a comprehensive plan; later when politically challenged; the effectiveness diluted eventually. Penalties The Pure Food Act 1959 that prosecutes offenders of food adulteration has a ludicrously low penalty of Tk. 200. In spite of the nominal fine, the amount realized from the mobile court drives has been enormous. In 2012, a vigilance team of National Consumers Right Protection Directorate has realized taka two lakh and six thousand as fine from different hotels, restaurants and fast food shops for selling adulterated and rotten foods in the International Trade Fair at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar. * Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was sued in Dhaka due to its use of adulterated vegetable oil to prepare high cost food this year. Authority says KFC outlets of Dhaka and Chittagong have taken no step to maintain standard of foods though many of those were fined for sub-standard foods and unhygienic condition of their kitchens. On August 7, 2011, a mobile court for food in Chittagong found rotten vegetables and tomatoes in their (KFC’s) refrigerator, and found that their salad packets do not have information about th e compositions and nutrition facts. Later the court fined BDT 25,000, but said they are punishing minimally only to warn them, KFC should be careful about their quality. 11 BSTI sources revealed that it conducted 1,039 mobile courts across the country in seven months from July 2010 to February 2011 and detected rampant malpractice and adulteration in the food production centers. Some Tk. 23. million were realized as fine during the drives while 1,086 cases were filed and 66 people were sent to jail. 7 The Solution The best solution to reduce adulteration is transparency and regulation. If the process of food producers is exposed, they will be forced to provide the customers with good healthy and hygienic food. Some of the solutions could be: * Return of Mobile Court: As mentioned previously, the anti-adulteration mobile court led by Rokon-ud-Dawla was a huge success. It made the restaurants show their true face. The mobile court still exists and has recently found adulterated oil at a KFC outlet.However, many more small and large restaurants have such complaints against them. Therefore, the mobile court’s activity needs to be more widespread and regular. It may also be led by a permanent organization. With such activity restaurant owners will have to be aware about healthy food. * The Transparent Window: The transparent window is a concept where the customers will be able to see the kitchen of a restaurant to ensure hygiene. The kitchen should not be made completely open to public, as restaurants may not want to show their recipe. A completely open kitchen is also vulnerable to dust and therefore unhygienic.Therefore, every kitchen should have a large transparent window through which customers themselves will be able to judge whether the kitchen is hygienic enough. This will directly affect the restaurants as they always look forward to satisfying their customers. * Tax Cut: Restaurants should have an evaluation system governed by the monitoring/regulat ory committee. The current VAT rate for restaurants is 15%. If a restaurant gets a full-marks review from that committee the restaurant may be charged with a lesser VAT – say 12. 5%. This will be a great way to motivate restaurant owners to making healthy food.Owners will, to a certain extent, find healthy food a way to lower their price of food and thus be able to attract more customers. Conclusion Food adulteration has been a burning problem in Bangladesh since a few years. Especially after the initiation of the mobile court drive in 2007, widespread media attention has been given to the malpractices prevalent in the food industry. Although it seemed initially that the drive would bring fruitful results, the effort has sagged in recent times. Through revival of the mobile court drive, increase of transparency and motivation of food akers through tax benefit, we can hope to ensure that food will be kept in its own unadulterated form. —————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€œ [ 1 ]. Kurgan, P. & Wells, R. (2006). Economics, New York, Worth Publishers. [ 2 ]. Haque, M. M. (2009). Food adulteration by chemicals and diseases. The Financial Express. Retrieved from http://www. thefinancialexpress-bd. com/2009/07/31/74799. html [ 3 ]. Mass campaign to stop food adulteration. (2011). Retrieved from http://www. rdrsbangla. net/Resources/ContentFile/contentFile_4e82cdc5d1c17. pdf [ 5 ]. Yousuf, M. A. (2011).Nourishment or Toxin: A Critical Appraisal on the Food Adulteration Issue in Bangladesh (Part A). Business Innovation Facility. Retrieved from http://businessinnovationfacility. org/profiles/blogs/nourishment-or-toxin-a-critical-appraisal-on-the-food [ 6 ]. Food adulteration rings alarm bell. (2011). The Daily Star. Retrieved from http://www. thedailystar. net/newDesign/news-details. php? nid=198096 [ 7 ]. Khan, M. A. (2011). Rampant adulteration still a havoc. The Daily Star. Retr ieved from http://www. thedailystar. net/newDesign/news-details. php? nid=193429 [ 8 ].Amin, A. M. ; Rahman, A. S. ; Ahsan, S. ; Khan, I. H. (2004). Eating away our health. Star Weekend Magazine. 4(20). Retrieved from http://www. thedailystar. net/magazine/2004/11/01/cover. htm [ 9 ]. Consumers Rights Protection team realizes fine over Taka two lakh. (2012). Bangladesh Shangbad Shangstha. Retrieved from http://www1. bssnews. net/newsDetails. php? cat=0=223298$date=2012-01-26=2012-02-02 [ 10 ]. Jibon, S. I. (2012). KFC was sued in Bangladesh for using adulterated oil. Digital Journal. Retrieved from http://digitaljournal. com/blog/15050

Comparing IFRS To GAAP Paper Essay

There are several differences between the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The IFRS is considered more of a â€Å"principles based† accounting standard in contrast to U.S. GAAP which is considered more â€Å"rules based.† By being more â€Å"principles based†, IFRS, arguably, represents and captures the economics of a transaction better than U.S. GAAP. As a team me collaborated to answer the following seven questions. IFRS 2-1: In what ways does the format of a statement of financial of position under IFRS often differ from a balance sheet presented under GAAP? IFRS does not mandate a specific order or classification of accounts on the statement of financial position. In most cases, companies report assets in reverse order of liquidity. An example of the order of accounts on the statement of financial position is as follows: Long Term Assets Current Assets Shareholder Equity Long Term Liabilities Current Liabilities GAAP specifically requires that all accounts be ordered based on their degree of liquidity. Therefore, cash is usually reported first and non-current assets will be reported last. Below is an example of the order typically found on a GAAP balance sheet: Current Assets Long Term Assets Current Liabilities Long Term Liabilities Shareholder Equity IFRS 2-2: Do the IFRS and GAAP conceptual frameworks differ in terms of the objective of financial reporting? Explain. No, GAAP and IFRS maintain very similar viewpoints on the objectivity of financial data. Both of these authoritative bodies agree that financial reporting data should be relevant and faithfully represented. Information that is relevant is anything that could be viewed as useful in the eyes of an investor, creditor, or regulator. Information that is faithfully represented should conform to  industry standards and any estimates should be conservative in nature. IFRS 2-3: What terms commonly used under IFRS is synonymous with common stock and balance sheet? Balance Sheet is synonymous with the â€Å"Statement of Financial Position† and Common Stock is typically labeled as â€Å"Share Capital Ordinary† on IFRS financial statements. IFRS 3-1: Describe some of the issues the SEC must consider in deciding whether the United States should adopt IFRS. The SEC has several aspects to consider when it comes to the adoption of IFRS in the United States. First, the SEC should consider the overall costs impact this will have on businesses. It is likely that it would cost billions of dollars in new reporting expenses for U.S corporations to implement IFRS. It would also require accounting firms to vastly change their education requirements. Second, the SEC’s main job is to protect investors from fraud on public exchanges. The commission must determine whether IFRS does a better job of protecting investors from unlawful activity. IFRS 4-1: Compare and contrast the rules regarding revenue recognition under IFRS versus GAAP. Under GAAP, it is possible to use cash-basis or accrual basis accounting for revenue recognition. Under cash basis, revenue is recognized with payment is received. Under accrual basis, revenue is recognized when it becomes economically significant. GAAP has specific requirements for various industries on when an event qualifies to be recognized as revenue. IFRS has fewer requirements on revenue recognition, but follows the same basic principle of economic significance. Revenue can be recorded when t is probable that any future economic benefit associated with the item of revenue will flow to the entity and it can be measured reliably. IFRS 4-2: Under IFRS, do the definitions of revenues and expenses include gains and losses? Explain. Under IFRS, revenue is used to describe the total amount of economic benefits arising from the ordinary operating activities of a business. Therefore, it does not include non-operating gains. This principle applies equally to expenses, which do not include losses from non-operating activities. FRS 7-1: Some people argue that the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) put U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage to companies outside the United States. Discuss the competitive implications (both pros and cons) of SOX. When it was implemented in 2002, SOX created an array of new reporting requirements for publically traded companies. While it is true that this costs American  businesses additional capital in compliance expenses, it also creates a more stable financial system. The major frauds of Enron and WorldCom were much more damaging the financial system. Overall, it reduces the risks for investors in public companies and encourages foreign direct investment. After all of the information was gathered, I could say that I have a much better understanding of the differences between the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). References: Terms Synonymous with Common Stock and Balance Sheet – IFRS2-3. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://octotutor.com/terms-synonymous-with-common-stock-and-balance-sheet-ifrs2-3/ Still in flux: Future of IFRS in U.S. remains unclear after SEC report. (n.d.). Retrieved January 16, 2015, from http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2012/Sep/20126059.htm