Effect of Financial Performance on Earnings Management in the Drug Distribution Industry

Ali Shirzad,Shaban Mohammadi,Ryhaneh Haghighi 한국유통과학회 2015 The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business( Vol.6 No.4

Purpose To mislead shareholders – about a firm’s actual economic performance, managers frequently manage dividends. Earnings management also affects performance reviews. Managers attempt to manage reported earnings caused by current economic events to accurately reflect their current performance. Research design, data, and methodology – The sample consisted of 312 company-years from companies in the pharmaceutical distribution industry listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. A study period from 2004 to 2014 was selected. In this study, a model for measuring the performance of the net profits to total assets of a division of Jones was used to measure earnings management. Results – This study found a negative correlation between corporate performance and earnings management. Conclusions – The results for the earnings management company indicated a significant inverse relationship. Therefore, the company’s performance weakened as its earnings management activity increased. In other words, the results showed that the company’s performance-based accruals earnings management, the actual management of profits, and the general level of earnings management had significant inverse relationships. Thus, as the company’s profits declined, earnings management activity increased.

Outcome Measure of Pain in Patients with Lumbar Disc Herniation: Validation Study of the Iranian version of Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire

Parisa Azimi,Shirzad Azhari,Sohrab Shahzadi,Hossain Nayeb Aghaei,Hassan Reza Mohammadi,Ali Montazeri 대한척추외과학회 2016 Asian Spine Journal Vol.10 No.3

Study Design: Cross-sectional. Purpose: To translate and culturally adapt an Iranian version of the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) in Iran. Overview of Literature: Instruments measuring patient reported outcomes should satisfy certain psychometric properties. Methods: The PSQ was translated following cross-cultural adaptation guidelines. A total of 101 patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH), and 39 healthy cases were included in the study. All participants completed the PSQ and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, known group comparison, criterion validity and item-scale correlations were assessed. Results: The mean age of participants was 51.7 years. Reliability, validity and correlation of PSQ and PCS showed satisfactory results. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were 0.81 for PSQ-total, 0.82 for PSQ-minor, and 0.82 for PSQ-moderate. The intraclass correlation coefficients value was 0.84 (0.616–0.932) indicating an excellent test-retest reliability. The instrument discriminated well between sub-groups of patients who differed in a standard predictive measure of LDH surgery (the Finneson–Cooper score). Total PSQ were also significantly correlated with the total scores of the PCS, lending support to its good convergent validity. Additionally, the correlation of each item with its hypothesized domain on the PSQ indicated acceptable results, suggesting that the items had a substantial relationship with their own domains. Conclusions: The adapted Iranian PSQ is a valid and reliable questionnaire for the assessment of pain in patients with LDH.

An Outcome Measure of Functionality and Pain in Patients with Low Back Disorder: A Validation Study of the Iranian version of Low Back Outcome Score

Parisa Azimi,Hossein Nayeb Aghaei,Shirzad Azhari,Sohrab Shazadi,Hamid Khayat Kashany,Hassan Reza Mohammadi,Ali Montazeri 대한척추외과학회 2016 Asian Spine Journal Vol.10 No.4

Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Purpose: This study aimed to cross-culturally translate and validate the low back outcome score (LBOS) in Iran. Overview of Literature: Lumbar disc hernia (LDH) is the most common diagnoses of low back pain and imposes a heavy burden on both individual and society. Instruments measuring patient reported outcomes should satisfy cetain psychometric properties. Methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original questionnaire was performed using Beaton’s guideline. A total of 163 patients with LDH were asked to respond to the questionnaire at three points in time: preoperative and twice within 1-week interval after surgery assessments. The Oswestry disabilty index (ODI) was also completed. The internal consistency, test-retest, convergent validity, and responsiveness to change were assessed. Responsiveness to change also was assessed comparing patients’ pre- and postoperative scores. Results: The mean age of the cohort was 49.8 years (standard deviation=10.1). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the LBOS at preoperative and postoperative assessments ranged from 0.77 to 0.79, indicating good internal consistency. Test-retest reliability as performed by intraclass correlation coefficient was found to be 0.82 (0.62–0.91). The instrument discriminated well between subgroups of patients who differed in the Finneson-Cooper score. The ODI correlated strongly with the LBOS score, lending support to its good convergent validity (r =–0.83; p <0.001). Further analysis also indicated that the questionnaire was responsive to change (p <0.001). Conclusions: The Iranian version of LBOS performed well and the findings suggest that it is a valid measure of back pain treatment evaluation among LDH patients.

Outcome Measures of Functionality, Social Interaction, and Pain in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Validation Study for the Iranian Version of the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale

Hossein Nayeb Aghaei,Parisa Azimi,Sohrab Shahzadi,Shirzad Azhari,Hassan Reza Mohammadi,Pooyan Alizadeh,Ali Montazeri 대한척추외과학회 2015 Asian Spine Journal Vol.9 No.6

Study Design: Cross-sectional. Purpose: To translate and validate the Iranian version of the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale (CNFDS). Overview of Literature: Instruments measuring patient-reported outcomes should satisfy certain psychometric properties. Methods: Ninety-three cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy were entered into the study and completed the CNFDS pre and postoperatively at the 6 month follow-up. The modified Japanese Orthopedic Association Score was also completed. The internal consistency, test-retest, convergent validity, construct validity (item scale correlation), and responsiveness to change were assessed. Results: Mean age of the patients was 54.3 years (standard deviation, 8.9). The Cronbach α coefficient was satisfactory (α=0.84). Test-retest reliability as assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient analysis was 0.95 (95% confidence interval, 0.92–0.98). The modified Japanese Orthopedic Association score correlated strongly with the CNFDS score, lending support to its good convergent validity (r =−0.80; p <0.001). Additionally, the correlation of each item with its hypothesized domain on the CNFDS was acceptable, suggesting that the items had a substantial relationship with their own domains. These results also indicate that the instrument was responsive to change (p <0.0001). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the Iranian version of the CNFDS is a valid measure to assess functionality, social interaction, and pain among patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

The Impact of Management on the Operational Efficiency of Listed Companies in Tehran Stock Exchange

Mahmoud Lari Dashtbayaz,Shaban Mohammadi,Ali Shirzad 국제융합경영학회 2015 융합경영연구 Vol.3 No.4

This study examined the relationship between working capital management and performance of listed companies Stock Exchange in Tehran. A total of 40 companies from the cement industry for the period 2007 to 2010 of which only 25 were selected for this study had the condition. In order to achieve the objectives, this study surveys the exploration of correlation regression analysis and used the curve obtained, the regression equation. To test the hypothesis, quantitative analysis was used as a method. The results showed a negative relationship between the variables of working capital management and the company's performance and the only variable cash conversion cycle did not show a significant relationship. There is often a negative correlation between the variables studied. This study is based on five assumptions impact of working capital management on corporate profitability is examined. Therefore, the results suggest that the variables in working capital (average collection of receivables, average inventory turnover period, the average net debt and average transaction cycle) and net operating profit is significant negative correlation Net cash conversion cycle and only illustrates the relationship is not significant. Thus, it showed that in debt collection and debt payment period, the turnover of inventory and net trade cycle to reduce the profitability of companies will increase.

Cut-off Value for Body Mass Index in Predicting Surgical Success in Patients with Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis

Parisa Azimi,Taravat Yazdanian,Sohrab Shahzadi,Edward C. Benzel,Shirzad Azhari,Hossein Nayeb Aghaei,Ali Montazeri 대한척추외과학회 2018 Asian Spine Journal Vol.12 No.6

Study Design: Case-control. Purpose: To determine optimal cut-off value for body mass index (BMI) in predicting surgical success in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). Overview of Literature: BMI is an essential variable in the assessment of patients with LSCS. Methods: We conducted a prospective study with obese and non-obese LSCS surgical patients and analyzed data on age, sex, duration of symptoms, walking distance, morphologic grade of stenosis, BMI, postoperative complications, and functional disability. Obesity was defined as BMI of ≥30 kg/m2. Patients completed the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) questionnaire before surgery and 2 years after surgery. Surgical success was defined as ≥30% improvement from the baseline ODI score. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to estimate the optimal cut-off values of BMI to predict surgical success. In addition, correlation was assessed between BMI and stenosis grade based on morphology as defined by Schizas and colleague in total, 189 patients were eligible to enter the study. Results: Mean age of patients was 61.5±9.6 years. Mean follow-up was 36±12 months. Most patients (88.4%) were classified with grades C (severe stenosis) and D (extreme stenosis). Post-surgical success was 85.7% at the 2-year follow-up. A weak correlation was observed between morphologic grade of stenosis and BMI. Rates of postoperative complications were similar between patients who were obese and those who were non-obese. Both cohorts had similar degree of improvement in the ODI at the 2-year followup. However, patients who were non-obese presented significantly higher surgical success than those who were obese. In ROC curve analysis, a cut-off value of ≤29.1 kg/m2 for BMI in patients with LSCS was suggestive of surgical success, with 81.1% sensitivity and 82.2% specificity (area under the curve, 0.857; 95% confidence interval, 0.788–0.927). Conclusion: This study showed that the BMI can be considered a parameter for predicting surgical success in patients with LSCS and can be useful in clinical practice.

A Review on the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Spinal Diseases

Azimi Parisa,Yazdanian Taravat,Benzel Edward C.,Aghaei Hossein Nayeb,Azhari Shirzad,Sadeghi Sohrab,Montazeri Ali 대한척추외과학회 2020 Asian Spine Journal Vol.14 No.4

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been used in a wide variety of real-world applications and it emerges as a promising field across various branches of medicine. This review aims to identify the role of ANNs in spinal diseases. Literature were searched from electronic databases of Scopus and Medline from 1993 to 2020 with English publications reported on the application of ANNs in spinal diseases. The search strategy was set as the combinations of the following keywords: “artificial neural networks,” “spine,” “back pain,” “prognosis,” “grading,” “classification,” “prediction,” “segmentation,” “biomechanics,” “deep learning,” and “imaging.” The main findings of the included studies were summarized, with an emphasis on the recent advances in spinal diseases and its application in the diagnostic and prognostic procedures. According to the search strategy, a set of 3,653 articles were retrieved from Medline and Scopus databases. After careful evaluation of the abstracts, the full texts of 89 eligible papers were further examined, of which 79 articles satisfied the inclusion criteria of this review. Our review indicates several applications of ANNs in the management of spinal diseases including (1) diagnosis and assessment of spinal disease progression in the patients with low back pain, perioperative complications, and readmission rate following spine surgery; (2) enhancement of the clinically relevant information extracted from radiographic images to predict Pfirrmann grades, Modic changes, and spinal stenosis grades on magnetic resonance images automatically; (3) prediction of outcomes in lumbar spinal stenosis, lumbar disc herniation and patient-reported outcomes in lumbar fusion surgery, and preoperative planning and intraoperative assistance; and (4) its application in the biomechanical assessment of spinal diseases. The evidence suggests that ANNs can be successfully used for optimizing the diagnosis, prognosis and outcome prediction in spinal diseases. Therefore, incorporation of ANNs into spine clinical practice may improve clinical decision making.