Relevance Of Such Information Research Articles

Sustainable development goals disclosure and analyst forecast quality

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) disclosure and analyst forecast quality.Design/methodology/approachThe study focuses on a sample of 95 Italian-listed companies preparing the mandatory non-financial declaration (NFD) according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards over a five-year period (2017–2021), corresponding to an unbalanced sample of 438 observations. Analyst forecast quality was proxied by earnings forecast accuracy (FA) and earnings forecast dispersion (FD), built on data retrieved from the Refinitiv database. A manual content analysis was performed on NFDs to derive an SDG disclosure score (SDGD) for each sampled company.FindingsThis study provides empirical evidence suggesting that voluntary SDG disclosure matters to the capital market in that it helps enhance the information environment of companies, evidenced by improved analyst forecast quality. In particular, this study highlighted that SDG disclosure positively influences analyst FA while negatively affecting analyst FD.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on the Italian context, which has idiosyncratic characteristics regarding the structure of the financial market, the composition of corporate ownership and experience in non-financial reporting practices.Practical implicationsThis study indicates to corporate managers that following GRI standards may represent the right way to better integrate SDG disclosure in corporate non-financial reports and increase the relevance of such information for investors and other capital market participants.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that empirically examines the association between SDG disclosure and analyst forecast quality.

Characteristics of the subject of official forgery: based on the analysis of law enforcement practice

The article examines the views of various scholars on the definition of the subject of a criminal offense in general and the elements of forgery in particular. The author analyzes the report of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine for 2019-2022 on the commission of a criminal offense under Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The author examines, among other things, socio-demographic, socio­role, moral, psychological and criminal law features of the personality structure of a criminal committing forgery. An attempt is made to identify the main features inherent in the subject of this criminal offense. The main attention is paid to the construction of his criminological portrait and determination of the functional relevance of such information.
 In the study of the characteristic features inherent in the subject of criminal forgery, an important place is given to the personality structure of the offender who commits this crime. This structure is a set of his/her socially significant qualities that have developed in the process of various interactions with other people. The analysis of the characteristic features of such a person also involves the maximum consideration of psychological characteristics and biologically determined qualities, which in turn determine human behavior, including criminal behavior. Therefore, it should be taken into account that these qualities have a significant impact on criminal behavior. Thus, the subject of forgery is characterized by a system of signs, properties, qualities that define him/her as a person who has committed a criminal offense.
 The author provides a criminological and socio-psychological characterization of the subject of forgery, analyzes the demographic, moral and social characteristics of such a person, as well as his/ her anti-social criminal behavior, and provides a substantiation of the socio-psychological portrait of a criminal who commits a criminal offense under Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Such a person is also characterized by a certain system of moral and psychological beliefs, properties, attitudes, intellectual, emotional and volitional qualities. Given the above, the characterization of an official as part of this criminal offense has specific features that are determined by the peculiar official status of such a person and significantly distinguish it from the general characterization of the subject of the criminal offense.

АНАЛИЗ ВОЗНИКНОВЕНИЯ И ПРОФИЛАКТИКА ПОЖАРООПАСНЫХ РЕЖИМОВ В ЭЛЕКТРОСЕТИ АВТОМОБИЛЯ

The issues of research of fire-hazardous modes of operation of the electric network of the car are considered. Emergency modes of operation of the electrical elements of the car can lead to a fire with varying degrees of probability, depending on the service life of the machine and external influences. The article proposes a software package based on the use of stochastic calculation methods. This will allow you to get more specific information about the likelihood of a fire-hazardous emergency mode in the vehicle's electrical network, depending on external factors and its service life. It is proposed to use the results obtained for effective management of prevention and prevention of fire-hazardous modes in the vehicle's electrical network. The relevance of such information increases in the case of car parks, where the degree of operation, the brand of the manufacturer, the year of manufacture and the scheme of use of electrical elements of each car differ.

The relationship between accounting information and the performance of supplementary health care providers

Purpose: Analyze the relationship between accounting information and the performance of supplementary health care providers (OPS) based on economic and financial indicators. The study assessed operational, liquidity, profitability, and capital structure indicators in addition to the influence of the size and type of provider on the Supplementary Health Performance Index (IDSS), which is a proxy for the OPS performance.
 Methodology: First, factor analysis was carried out on 18 economic-financial indicators of 568 OPS, which resulted in five factors (operational, liquidity, profitability, capital structure, and size). Finally, a model was developed in which ordinary least squares (MQO) and TOBIT regressions were applied to explain the IDSS, as a function of the five calculated factors plus four dummy variables for the types of OPS.
 Results: The results showed that the OPS data and economic-financial indicators are jointly relevant to explain the IDSS, indicating that the accounting information can portray aspects of the supplementary health sector, which go beyond the purely financial dimension.
 Contributions of the Study: The study contributes to the literature by bringing strong evidence that OPS accounting information is important to explain part of the supplementary health sector’s economic environment, surpassing by more than twice its own informational content in the IDSS, which highlights the usefulness and relevance of such information to users of OPS.

Genetic diversity of the two-spotted stink bug Bathycoelia distincta (Pentatomidae) associated with macadamia orchards in South Africa.

The South African macadamia industry is severely affected by a complex of stink bugs, dominated by the two-spotted stink bug, Bathycoelia distincta Distant (Pentatomidae). This species was first discovered during the spring of 1984 in the Limpopo province. Although considerable effort has been spent trying to manage this pest, it continues to be a pest of concern for the macadamia industry. Information on the genetic diversity of this species is lacking, despite the potential relevance of such information for management strategies. The present study aimed to characterise the genetic diversity of B. distincta populations in South Africa. The Cytochrome c Oxidase Subunit 1 (COI) and cytochrome b (Cytb) gene regions were sequenced from individuals collected from the three main regions of macadamia production over three different seasons (2018-2020). An overall high haplotype diversity (COI = 0.744, Cytb = 0.549 and COI+Cytb = 0.875) was observed. Pairwise mean genetic distance between populations from each region varied from 0.2-0.4% in both datasets, which suggests the absence of cryptic species. The median joining network for both datasets consisted of one or two central haplotypes shared between the regions in addition to unique haplotypes observed in each region. Finally, low genetic differentiation (FST < 0.1), high gene flow (Nm > 1) and the absence of a correlation between genetic and geographic distance were estimated among populations. Overall, these results suggest that the B. distincta populations are not structured among the areas of macadamia production in South Africa. This might be due to its ability to feed and reproduce on various plants and its high dispersal (airborne) between the different growing regions of the country along with the rapid expansion of macadamia plantations in South Africa.

Quantification of Receptor Occupancy by Ligand-An Understudied Class of Potential Biomarkers.

Simple SummaryMolecular complexes, such as those comprised of ligands such as hormones binding to their target receptors, are key determinants of health and disease. While research has focused on measuring receptors or ligands independently as biomarkers, very little attention has been given to measuring ligand-receptor complexes, in part, due to the limited availability of suitable technologies to do such measurements. This has led to underappreciation of ligand-receptor complexes as biomarkers in disease, including in cancer. In this commentary, the potential role of ligand-receptor complexes and their importance as biomarkers in cancer is discussed. We also describe a novel RNA aptamer-based technology, designated as ligand-receptor complex-binding aptamers (LIRECAP), that can provide precise measurement of the ligand occupancy of receptors and has potential use as a biomarker discovery platform.Molecular complexes, such as ligand–receptor complexes, are vital for both health and disease and can be shed into the circulation in soluble form. Relatively little is known about the biology of soluble ligand–receptor complexes. The functional importance of such complexes and their potential use as clinical biomarkers in diagnosis and therapy remains underappreciated. Most traditional technologies used to study ligand–receptor complexes measure the individual levels of soluble ligands or receptors rather than the complexes themselves. The fraction of receptors occupied by ligand, and the potential clinical relevance of such information, has been largely overlooked. Here, we review the biological significance of soluble ligand–receptor complexes with a specific focus on their potential as biomarkers of cancer and other inflammatory diseases. In addition, we discuss a novel RNA aptamer-based technology, designated ligand–receptor complex-binding aptamers (LIRECAP), that can provide precise measurement of the fraction of a soluble receptor occupied by its ligand. The potential applicability of the LIRECAP technology as a biomarker discovery platform is also described.

Including Indigenous and local knowledge in climate research. An assessment of the opinion of Spanish climate change researchers.

Researchers have documented that observations of climate change impacts reported by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities coincide with scientific measurements of such impacts. However, insights from Indigenous and Local Knowledge are not yet completely included in international climate change research and policy fora. In this article, we compare observations of climate change impacts detected by Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities from around the world and collected through a literature review (n=198 case studies), with climate scientists' opinions on the relevance of such information for climate change research. Scientists' opinions were collected through a web survey among climate change researchers from universities and research centres in Spain (n=191). In the survey, we asked about the need to collect local level data regarding 68 different groups of indicators of climate change impacts to improve the current knowledge, and about the feasibility of using Indigenous and local knowledge in climate change studies. Results show consensus on the need to continue collecting local level data from all groups of indicators to get a better understanding of climate change impacts, particularly on impacts on the biological system. However, while scientists of our study considered that Indigenous and local knowledge could mostly contribute to detect climate change impacts on the biological and socioeconomic systems, the literature review shows that information on impacts on these systems is rarely collected; researchers instead have mostly documented the impacts on the climatic and physical systems reported by Indigenous and local knowledge.

Increases in residential and energy development are associated with reductions in recruitment for a large ungulate.

Land-use change due to anthropogenic development is pervasive across the globe and commonly associated with negative consequences for biodiversity. While land-use change has been linked to shifts in the behavior and habitat-use patterns of wildlife species, little is known about its influence on animal population dynamics, despite the relevance of such information for conservation. We conducted the first broad-scale investigation correlating temporal patterns of land-use change with the demographic rates of mule deer, an iconic species in the western United States experiencing wide-scale population declines. We employed a unique combination of long-term (1980-2010) data on residential and energy development across western Colorado, in conjunction with congruent data on deer recruitment, to quantify annual changes in land-use and correlate those changes with annual indices of demographic performance. We also examined annual variation in weather conditions, which are well recognized to influence ungulate productivity, and provided a basis for comparing the relative strength of different covariates in their association with deer recruitment. Using linear mixed models, we found that increasing residential and energy development within deer habitat were correlated with declining recruitment rates, particularly within seasonal winter ranges. Residential housing had two times the magnitude of effect of any other factor we investigated, and energy development had an effect size similar to key weather variables known to be important to ungulate dynamics. This analysis is the first to correlate a demographic response in mule deer with residential and energy development at large spatial extents relevant to population performance, suggesting that further increases in these development types on deer ranges are not compatible with the goal of maintaining highly productive deer populations. Our results underscore the significance of expanding residential development on mule deer populations, a factor that has received little research attention in recent years, despite its rapidly increasing footprint across the landscape.

Relevance judgments of mobile commercial information

In the age of mobile commerce, users receive floods of commercial messages. How do users judge the relevance of such information? Is their relevance judgment affected by contextual factors, such as location and time? How do message content and contextual factors affect users' privacy concerns? With a focus on mobile ads, we propose a research model based on theories of relevance judgment and mobile marketing research. We suggest topicality, reliability, and economic value as key content factors and location and time as key contextual factors. We found mobile relevance judgment is affected mainly by content factors, whereas privacy concerns are affected by both content and contextual factors. Moreover, topicality and economic value have a synergetic effect that makes a message more relevant. Higher topicality and location precision exacerbate privacy concerns, whereas message reliability alleviates privacy concerns caused by location precision. These findings reveal an interesting intricacy in user relevance judgment and privacy concerns and provide nuanced guidance for the design and delivery of mobile commercial information.

Women’s Perception of Future Risk Following Pregnancies Complicated by Preeclampsia

Objective. To elicit women’s personal understanding of future cardiovascular risk, following a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia, and to identify the postnatal needs of these women. Methods. Semi-structured interviews with 12 women with a recent history of preeclampsia who had attended a postnatal follow-up clinic. Results. The interviews were held at a median of 47 weeks postpartum (range 24–62 weeks). Family history of cardiovascular disease was associated with a greater awareness of future cardiovascular risk. Women without traditional risk factors found it hard to envisage themselves as being at risk and may not see the relevance of such information. It may take several months after delivery for a woman to be able to fully consider her own health as well as the baby’s; a reminder of risk and health information is needed. Conclusions. Although receptive to follow-up, the situational factors of being a new mother need to be taken into account to engage successfully with this patient group. Further research is needed to help clarify the extent to which a history of preeclampsia is an independent factor for future cardiovascular disease to provide a solid foundation for effective risk communication.

Revisiting the principles and functions of the European Language Portfolio with a focus on tertiary education

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is based on principles which tend to challenge traditional learning and teaching practices and thus impact on education policy and systems. The primary owner of the ELP is the learner, and as a personal language learning companion, the ELP has three core functions: pedagogic, reporting and catalytic. For it to be effective, guidance and dialogue are needed during the highly formative years of formal education, and teachers and educational institutions have to accept the role of co-owners. The ELP as a collective tool is used by a variety of additional stakeholders and stakeholder groups pursuing their own purposes, e.g. innovation, quality development and standard setting in educational domains; plurilingualism, mutual understanding and mobility in political contexts; comparability and mutual recognition of qualifications and competences across workplaces in Europe. The innovative strength of the ELP lies not in its individual principles and functions but in the ways in which they interrelate, involve the learner directly, and bundle outcomes and effects of learning over time. With particular reference to tertiary education, this article argues that more differentiated language and intercultural profiles are needed in order to sharpen the focus and increase the relevance of such information in high-stakes situations.

Commentary: Why Do Research on Spirituality and Health, and What Do the Results Mean?

I address two related questions in this article. First, why conduct research on religion/spirituality (R/S) and health? Second, what are the dangers of misinterpreting or misapplying the results from such research? If relationships are found, so what? What is the practical value or clinical relevance of such information? Why should investigators spend time and scarce financial resources to explore such connections? What might health care professionals do differently as a result? How would people live their lives differently in light of such information? Questions like these need solid answers for the field to continue to move forward. Related to the "So what?" question is the issue of how results from research in this area are translated into popular understanding and application. After discussing why conducting research on religion and health is important, I identify a recently published research report that focuses on the relationship between R/S and self-control, an article that received considerable media press coverage. I present the results reported by the authors of this study and then examine a column written about the study that appeared in the New York Times. Finally, I explore what the findings mean, how the media portrayed the findings, and problems that might result depending on how people applied those findings.

A simple approach to fairer hospital benchmarking using patient experience data

To determine the factors contributing most to variability in patient experience in order to present approaches for fairer benchmarking of hospitals and for quality improvement. Secondary analysis of data from a widely used survey on patient experience. Inpatients from all 24 acute hospitals in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. Data collection followed the standardized and validated Picker Institute methodology for a period of 13 weeks in the fall/winter of 2005. Inpatients age 18 years and older (n = 14 089), discharged within the sampling period. 'Patient experience', measured by the total Picker Problem Score (PPS) and by six domain scores (care, communication, respect, cooperation, organization, discharge management). In regression analysis, the patient factors self-reported health, age and education explained the highest proportion of variability in the PPS (4.8, 2.2 and 0.7%, respectively). Multiple linear adjustment for factors associated with patients removed between 29 and 33% of variability between hospital categories. The domain score means varied from under 5% for 'respect towards the patient' to 34% for 'discharge management'. Ranking of hospitals by domain scores differed from the ranking based on the total PPS. Statistical adjustment for patient mix and additional stratification for some hospital factors make benchmarking using patient survey data fairer and more transparent. Use of our approach for presenting quality data may make interpretation easier for the different target groups and may enhance the relevance of such information for decision-making.

Haemodialysis as a model for studying endogenous plasma DNA: oligonucleosome-like structure and clearance.

The rate of clearance of extracellular plasma DNA in man has important implications for pathogenetic mechanisms in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as for certain other clinical states. Present knowledge of this parameter is derived exclusively from studies of injected, naked DNA in animals. Recent information indicates that the physiologic form of plasma DNA in SLE is that of oligonucleosome-like molecules rather than of naked DNA and consists of multimeric complexes of DNA bound to histone, probably arising from an apoptotic process. In order to study the rate at which these oligonucleosome-like complexes are removed from plasma and to do so in man rather than experimental animals, we exploited the observation that during haemodialysis large amounts of DNA are released, apparently within the dialysis coil, into the patient's plasma. Since this release appears to cease promptly with termination of the procedure, it offered the potential for estimating the rate of removal of such DNA from human plasma. Moreover, if that DNA, as postulated, were shown to possess an oligonucleosome-like structure resembling that found endogenously in human SLE, the relevance of such information to the human disease state would be further enhanced. The present results support the conclusion that DNA released into plasma during haemodialysis possesses such an oligonucleosome-like structure. The plasma half-life of that DNA in man was found not to exceed 4 min. The highly dynamic state thus implied for extracellular endogenous plasma DNA in man has important implications for pathogenetic mechanisms dependent on dsDNA in SLE. Moreover, individuals undergoing chronic haemodialysis, who are thereby exposed to a very large cumulative amount of such DNA, might serve as models for studying its long-term sequelae.

Asymmetric information about rivals' types in standard auctions: An experiment

This paper studies experimentally how information about rivals' types affects bidding behavior in first- and second-price auctions. The comparative static hypotheses associated with information about rivals enables us to test the relevance of such information as well as the general predictions of the auction theory, by providing an effective means to control for risk aversion and other behavioral motives that were difficult to control for in previous experiments. Our experimental evidence provides strong support for the theory, and sheds light on the roles of risk aversion and the spite motive in first- and second-price auctions, respectively.

Clinical Interventions in Aging: a forum for practitioners of evidence-based ?anti-aging medicine?

In 1990, data from an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggested that the age-related decline in human growth hormone (hGH) production contributes, at least in part, to senescence (Rudman et al 1990). Youthful changes in body composition associated with hGH administration to elderly men gave rise to the idea that replacement of vital substances such as hormones, cofactors, neurotransmitters, antioxidants, and other intrinsic factors that decline during aging might oppose or even reverse senescence. Adoption of this concept by healthcare providers during the 1990s resulted in the coining of the now popular term, “anti-aging medicine”. At first, the practice of replacement therapy to maintain health and vitality during aging seemed reasonable and scientifically valid. However, overinterpretation and sensational reporting of research data by the media misled many lay persons into believing that the means to reverse aging had been discovered. Public enthusiasm for access to the “fountain of youth” presented a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and charlatans to sell “anti-aging” products without providing evidence of their safety and efficacy. Eventually, commercial interests that exploited the public desire for enduring youth had tainted anti-aging medicine and raised concern among many healthcare professionals that the field was illegitimate. Commercialism also significantly reduced the availability of private and public research funds that could have helped expand upon the legitimate, original findings. This created significant obstacles to generating a database of information on safe, effective, and practical methods for increasing longevity with good quality of life during aging. The use of anti-aging products by those concerned with protecting their professional and ethical reputations became something of a liability (Wick 2002). Nonetheless, public interest in anti-aging therapies, especially those involving hormone and other vital substance replacement, continues and in many cases is growing. As a result, many physicians and healthcare providers have been forced to treat their patients without the benefit of reliable information that could be provided by professionally organized educational programs, seminars, and evidence-based, peer-reviewed reports from their colleagues in research and practice. A forum has been organized in recognition of the need for a reliable source of scientifically valid information on interventions in aging. Its purpose is to serve the needs and interests of medical practitioners whose practices include some aspect of longevity medicine. The forum includes a new international organization called the Society for Applied Research in Aging (SARA) and its official, peer-reviewed journal, Clinical Interventions in Aging (CIA). As a first step, SARA will sponsor, jointly with the University of South Florida College of Medicine, an organizational and charter member meeting and symposium in Tampa, FL, USA on October 28–30, 2005. All speakers will be experts in their field and have peer-reviewed publications demonstrating their competence. Participation is open to all physicians and healthcare providers, and SARA will take applications for charter membership at the meeting. The Society will offer a unique opportunity for members to contribute to the development of longevity medicine while at the same time provide the means to gain recognition of their skills and elevate their professional status among peers and patients alike. Achievement of these goals will be facilitated by participation in Society activities including the Institutional Review Board-approved clinical trials of hormone replacement therapies, protocols, and treatment paradigms for a variety of clinical situations; e-consult services/chat rooms for questions and debate of controversial issues; and training sessions/focus groups for intensive analysis of specific subjects. University-based, continuing medical educational credits (CME) will be provided for participation at many Society functions. As the result of participation, members will gain basic information on how the use of exercise, diet, nutrition and natural products, hormone and antioxidant replacement therapies, chelation and acupuncture, meditation, and other approaches may help promote and extend healthy life. They will also come to understand the risks and benefits of interventions in aging as well as some of the legal and ethical questions relevant to the healthcare practitioner. Through such professional development, the practitioner will more easily discriminate between legitimate and unfounded claims about healthy aging and longevity. Most importantly, members will receive subscriptions to CIA and will also be provided with instruction and assistance on gathering outcomes of their work, analyzing data, and creating publishable articles. Clinical Interventions in Aging will provide anti-aging practitioners the opportunity to gather information and communicate new perspectives, questions, and issues of importance to their peers through its pages. A major objective of SARA is to collect and report outcomes from studies of aging and its treatments; therefore, submissions of manuscripts for publication in CIA will be solicited as a major part of the Society's efforts. The journal is devoted to reporting the outcomes of current research and therapies that increase our knowledge of how the aging process can be better managed. Its highly respected editorial board will ensure publication of only the highest quality, peer-reviewed reports. In recognition of the value of clinical data and the relevance of such information to the needs of longevity medicine practitioners, the journal's format will include observations, case reports, new techniques, subjective conclusions and opinions, letters, and relevant articles. These submissions will be held to the same high standards for publication as are basic and clinical research papers. Accordingly, they should complement practical information on current treatments as reported by other practitioners. The journal will also periodically publish an educational section on current topics in longevity and integrative medicine for which CME credits as well as those for related healthcare professionals (CPE) will be offered. As Founding Editor of Clinical Interventions in Aging, I am proud to be part of these worthy efforts. I thank Dove Medical Press for giving me the opportunity to be integral to the initiatives that will make the practice of longevity medicine more interactive among its practitioners, and through their complementary efforts, bring the practice of “anti-aging medicine” to unprecedented levels of excellence.

Developing a national information policy—considerations for developing countries

Information and information technology developments are influencing the economies of many countries. Information needs to be made available and accessible in countries for industrial, educational and governmental purposes. Information is also an asset of unpredictable value. For these reasons, governments should acknowledge and value the relevance of such information, and therefore address it through national policies. Many countries have developed national information policies which reflect the values that governments attach to the access to and the availability of information in their countries. The most important influences on the development of a national information policy are based on the country's socio-political circumstances. Developing countries are advised to focus attention in their national information policies on aspects concerning socio-economic development, the application of information and access to information.

Developing a national information policy—considerations for developing countries

Information and information technology developments are influencing the economies of many countries. Information needs to be made available and accessible in countries for industrial, educational and governmental purposes. Information is also an asset of unpredictable value. For these reasons, governments should acknowledge and value the relevance of such information, and therefore address it through national policies. Many countries have developed national information policies which reflect the values that governments attach to the access to and the availability of information in their countries. The most important influences on the development of a national information policy are based on the country's socio-political circumstances. Developing countries are advised to focus attention in their national information policies on aspects concerning socio-economic development, the application of information and access to information.

Team situation awareness for process control safety and performance

AbstractThis paper defines situation awareness (SA) and discusses its importance to operator‐machine system safety and functioning in the context of process control activities. Specifically, identified are relationships of human detection of critical process cues converying the status of automated control systems and operator interpretation of the meaning and relevance of such information to the potential for negative incidents in chemical processing. Beyond individual operator SA in interacting with control systems, intra‐ and inter‐ work team SA are discussed for supporting individual attainment of process control responsibilities. Factors critical to team SA are discussed. “Road blocks” to team SA are also analytically examined. Lastly, methods for assessing individual and team SA are reviewed and vehicles for relating outcomes of these methods to changes in process control operator and team behavior to improve human‐machine system safety and performance are relayed.

Drug Metabolism in Drug Development: A DIA Tutorial for Regulatory Affairs Specialists

Many drug metabolism, drug-drug interaction, and pharmacogenetics meetings are held each year and are well attended by scientists from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and worldwide regulatory agencies. Personal communication indicated that large amounts of drug metabolism information passed across the desks of the regulatory affairs specialists either as reports being submitted to or as information requests from regulatory agencies and that, unlike other preclinical or clinical data, there was little appreciation of the meaning or relevance of such information to the overall drug development campaign. The purpose of the tutorial described here was to allow regulatory affairs specialists to gain a working appreciation of the nomenclature, techniques, and usefulness of in vitro and in vivo drug metabolism studies.