mohsen rashidi

The purpose of this research is to determine financial performance indicators in banks with a social responsibility approach. The current research had a phenomenological and applied-developmental approach, which was conducted through in-depth interviews with 5 bank managers that the questions based on the audit standards published by auditing international organizations were answered. The answers were specified in three stages of open, central and selective coding, and finally, the acceptance threshold of each component was determined using the fuzzy Delphi method. At this stage, the opinions of 20 banking experts are used. In the phenomenology stage, six main axes of financial criteria, corporate governance, economic, social, related to employees and environment were identified with 43 sub-components.. Finally,by polling 15 other experts By analyzing structural-interpretive modeling and using MATLAB software on the power of influence and the degree of dependence of banks' performance indicators, it was determined that the analysis and analysis of the power of influence and the power of dependence of the components showed that the variables of corporate and financial governance as dependent variables; Economic, social and environmental variables were considered as independent variables and employees as independent variables. In other words, in terms of influence, the MICMAC analysis showed that first the environment, (social and economic), then the employees, and finally the corporate and financial governance have a greater influence on other variables, which indicates the high importance of social responsibility in banks.

Transparency in the information provided can indicate the important role of the quality of managers and employees in identifying and controlling the ambiguities created in the company, so that employees and managers with higher education are more capable of providing information with less error and deviation. In this article, the purpose is to examine the quality of financial reporting based on the level of education of managers and employees of the company. In this study, in order to review and analyze the hypotheses, data related to 120 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange for the period 2009 to 2019 were extracted and from the regression model of combined data by fixed and logistic effects to test hypotheses. Research has been used. The results of the first and second hypotheses of the research indicate that the education of the board of directors and employees has a positive and significant effect on the quality of financial reporting. Also, the results of the third hypothesis of the research show that the level of education of employees has a negative and significant effect on the quality of financial reporting based on management bias in forecasting profits. Finally, the results of the fourth hypothesis of the research indicate that the level of education of employees has a negative and significant effect on the quality of financial reporting based on the scope of earnings forecasting.

Government debt to commercial banks has been growing in recent years in Iran.Increase in government debts to commercial banks, while increasing the risk of non-payment of government debts on time (Conversion of current claims of banks from the government into deferred claims), causing an increase in liquidity and its subsequent negative effects.It has also affected the country's economy. Therefore, this research seeks to investigate the risk of government debt to the system Banking in Iran is affected by the uncertainty of government policies and interest rate fluctuations. The research method is an analytical-causal library study using panel data approach.For this purpose, the financial information of banks admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period of time 2016 to 2021 has been reviewed. The results of the research showed that the uncertainty of macro-government policies the risk of non-payment of bank debts by the government has a positive and significant effect on bank interest rate fluctuations the risk of non-payment of bank debts by the government has a negative and significant effect. Therefore, investors should according to the environmental conditions, make more correct decisions in order to choose the shares of commercial banks in this way, not only the amount of damage caused by the uncertainty of economic policies can be minimized, but also this economic environment also obtained good returns.

Although extensive literature exists on abnormal audit fees, their determinants remain relatively underexplored in contemporary accounting and auditing research. Audit fees have attracted the attention of standard developers, investors, and researchers. Recent studies highlight a growing perspective that the role of abnormal audit fees in shaping audit report quality has become increasingly contentious. In addition, credit status significantly affects abnormal audit fees. This study aims to investigate the asymmetric reactions of the abnormal audit fees component to changes in credit status.

Considering the data collection method, the current research is descriptive. Descriptive research is carried out to better understand the existing conditions or help the decision-making process. According to the different categories of descriptive research, the current research is of correlational type. To test the research hypotheses, data was gathered from 120 firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2022. Finally, to examine and analyze the proposed hypotheses according to the theoretical foundations, the regression approach was applied.

The analysis of the first research hypothesis shows that the reduction of credit status has a positive and significant effect on abnormal audit fees. The second hypothesis of the research is that any decrease (increase) in the credit status has a positive (negative) and significant effect on the variable (short-term) part of the abnormal audit fee. The third research hypothesis, which claimed that bankruptcy risk significantly affects the relationship between the reduction (or increase) of credit status and the variable (short-term) component of the abnormal audit fee, was rejected. Finally, the results indicate that the risk of significant distortion has a significant effect on the relationship between the reduction (increase) of the credit status and the variable (short-term) part of the abnormal audit fee.

Based on the results, it can be concluded that as profit manipulation by the owners increases, the credit status of the companies declines. Auditors exert greater effort when dealing with owners who engage in manipulation, have a high likelihood of fraud, and exhibit low-profit quality, leading them to demand higher fees. In this regard, any decrease in credit status can result in problems, financial limitations, and the risk of bankruptcy in the future. Finally, higher profit quality attracts investors, leading to increased opportunities for financing.

The problemology of Iran’s urban development policies is focused on the legal dimension of urban development programs in the period after the revolution “from the beginning of the 1360s to the end of the 1390s”.

For this purpose, after detailed study of the text of the approvals in the mentioned time frame, with the interpretative-analytical approach and with the help of the qualitative content analysis method, the approvals related urban design were discussed and then the content related to the development plans was extracted. A city from legal point of view was examined in these 42 resolutions.

Paying attention to the texture and historical buildings with 24.68%, paying attention the existing historical background with 18.36%, tourism in urban areas with 16.58%, and recreation and leisure axes with 15.47% were the most topics. which have been considered from legal point of view. In the meantime, attention is given “view axis” with 0.98, “walking axis” with 1.88 and “cycling axis” with 1.88, attention to “height proportions”, “human scale” and less has been written from the legal point of view in the political issues of urban planning in Iran from the beginning of the 1360s to the end of the 1390s.

As result, despite the existence of hundreds of legal texts that have at least one article or clause related to planning and controlling the country’s physical development, this collection has not yet been able respond to the needs today’s physical development the country and relationship between the government and the people. Determine the relationship between people and the legal framework.

Acrylamide (CONH2-CH=CH2) is an odorless, white crystalline solid that dissolves in water and is widely used in industries such as cosmetics, adhesives, textiles, paper production, and laboratory research. It is also formed in fried foods prepared at high temperatures, with its concentration influenced by the food type, cooking method, temperature, and duration of heating. Acrylamide is neurotoxic and has been linked to carcinogenic effects in both laboratory animals and humans. This study investigates the potential protective effects of frankincense extract on the histological structure of the hippocampus and cerebellum in rats exposed to acrylamide.

Twenty healthy adult male rats were divided into four groups: the control group, the frankincense extract group (25 mg/kg), the acrylamide group (20 mg/kg), and the acrylamide with frankincense extract group (20 mg/kg acrylamide and 25 mg/kg frankincense extract). All treatments were administered via daily gavage for 14 days. After the experimental period, the rats were weighed, and blood and brain tissue samples were collected for biochemistry and histological analysis.

Exposure to acrylamide significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum compared to the control group. Concurrent administration of frankincense extract with acrylamide led to a significant reduction in MDA levels and an improvement in TAC values compared to the acrylamide-only group. Histological analysis revealed that the thickness of the cerebellar granular layer increased significantly in the frankincense extract group compared to the acrylamide group.

The findings demonstrate that the alcoholic extract of frankincense exhibits strong antioxidant properties, effectively mitigating acrylamide-induced oxidative damage in brain tissue by scavenging free radicals. These results suggest that frankincense extract may serve as a protective agent against acrylamide toxicity in the hippocampus and cerebellum.

The current changes in the fields of technology and issues formed at the level of society and companies have increased the importance of paying attention to the aspect of innovation in organizations. In this regard, the competitive situation of the market and the financial resources saved in the company can increase the conditions for improving the performance related to innovation. In other words, innovation is a primary factor in the organization's performance. This study aimed to investigate the effect of competition intensity and organizational reserve on the relationship between innovation and company performance.

The data required for this research was collected and analyzed using a questionnaire completed by 159 employees and company managers.

The research results show a significant relationship between the intensity of competition and innovation. Also, the results indicate that organizational stock significantly affects innovation. Finally, the results of the third hypothesis of the research show that the intensity of competition and organizational reserve strengthen the relationship between innovation and performance.

Originality/Value: 

Organizational reserve and intensity of competition are essential and influential factors in innovation, which improve the performance of the organization and its progress. Finally, increased innovation will help gain more profit and market share. Therefore, according to the research gap in the previous studies, the current research has investigated the effect of competition intensity and organizational reserve on the relationship between innovation and company performance.

Peptides obtained from protein hydrolysis have many bioactive properties and have strong antioxidant activity against free radicals and prevent oxidation processes that cause damage to biological macromolecules and degradation and loss of food quality. Due to the large amount of rice production in the world, a large amount of rice bran is produced and available. As a suitable and cheap protein source, rice bran can be used for the production of plant-derived peptides. Optimizing conditions of enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran protein by alcalase enzyme was done with the aim of achieving maximum antioxidant properties. In order to check the antioxidant activity of the obtained peptides, iron 3 reduction power tests and DPPH free radical inhibitory activity and total antioxidant activity were used. In order to optimize the process, Design Expert software and response surface method were used with three independent variables: enzyme concentration to substrate 1-3%, temperature 40-55 degrees Celsius and hydrolysis time 30-210 minutes. The optimal treatment was obtained under the determined conditions including temperature of 51.5 degrees Celsius, time of 131.5 minutes and concentration of enzyme to substrate of 3%, which has maximum DPPH free radical inhibition of 37.172%, total antioxidant activity of 1.109% and reductiveness of 2.084%. The obtained results showed that the hydrolysis process of rice bran protein by alkalase enzyme has led to the production of peptides with high and significant antioxidant properties that can be used in the production of useful foods and pharmaceutical industries and can also replace synthetic antioxidants.

The role of accounting estimations in the quality of financial data has become challenging nowadays and has made it difficult for managers to make reliable forecasts. The continuous use of estimates has damaged the quality of financial information. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of auditor expertise in accounting estimates on the accounting estimates intensity and management deviations.

The subject of the study is based on the regression model of combined and logit data and in the period of 2014 to 2021, the data of 960 companies admitted to the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected and used to test the research hypotheses.

The results of the first hypothesis test of the research that the intensity of accounting estimation has a positive relationship with the desire of the owner's management to reach the target profit have not been rejected. The second hypothesis of the research showed that the intensity of the accounting estimate has a positive and significant relationship with the audit fee. The third hypothesis of the research is that the audit expertise has a significant effect on the relationship between the accounting estimate intensity and the willingness of the owner's management to achieve the target profit. Finally, the significant impact of the auditor's expertise on accounting estimates on the relationship between the accounting estimates intensity and audit fees has been confirmed.

Based on the research result, it can be stated that the intensity of accruals leads to a change in the management approach in achieving the target profit. Therefore, the auditor's expertise in relation to accounting estimates can indicate the ability of auditors to evaluate the assumptions of the company's management, which can affect the quality of the presented report.

Contribution: 

In this research, by presenting a new approach to measuring the auditor's expertise, the achievement of the target profit has been described. On the other hand, the findings of this research have been potentially taken into consideration by the legislators and investors in suggesting that the auditor's expertise in accounting estimates can be effective in preventing earning management.

Enhancing the quality and reliability of accounting information augments the potential for sound decision-making and risk evaluation by external stakeholders, ultimately contributing to the rectification of shortcomings in debt contracts. The amount of borrowing from multiple sources varies greatly among companies. Large companies with high credit ratings tend to diversify into different types of debt, while small companies with low credit ratings tend to have fewer types of debt. To rationalize the constrained utilization of specific loan types, proponents highlight potential economic advantages, such as decreased bankruptcy costs, reduced expenses for information gathering, and incentives for creditors to minimize monitoring. In this article, the aim is to investigate debt concentration based on the informational dimension of accounting quality. The current research adopts a quantitative approach within the realm of positivist inquiry. This classification stems from the fact that the concepts under investigation objectively exist in the external world, and there is complete independence between the researcher and the subject matter. Given that this research methodology revolves around delineating actual relationships within existing data, and presenting them in the form of a model, the study is categorized within the domain of descriptive research. For this purpose, data related to 120 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2020 were extracted, and the combined data regression model. The Tobit model was used to test research hypotheses. To calculate the information dimension of accounting quality, Lee et al.'s (2021) model was used, and the normalized Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) was used to calculate debt concentration. The research results indicated that the information dimension of accounting quality leads to a change in debt concentration. Also, the results of the third and fourth hypotheses indicated the effect of financial constraint on the dispersion of financing. Finally, the fifth and sixth hypotheses showed the effectiveness of managers' risk-taking on the concentration and number of debts. The environment in which managers operate is constantly changing as a result of fluctuations in the interests of individuals. This change in interests leads to a re-evaluation of risk by managers. Violation of contractual obligations by companies leads to the reflection of bad news in prices. In essence, to regulate and safeguard prices and mitigate the risk of information asymmetry for creditors, company managers curtail their risk-taking. Simultaneously, to secure their job positions, they adopt approaches that consider the interests of creditors. In companies with high accounting information quality, there is a greater tendency to reduce dispersion and diversity in the debt structure. This approach of centralization is a function of the company's financial situation and managers' risk-taking. Financial constraints lead to a change in the behavior of creditors towards the company and reduce their willingness to provide credit.

The value relevance of financial statements is of great significance to investors and standard setters. Comparability of accounting is one of the increasing features in the financial reporting system. It generally means that two reporting entities that face the same economic events use the same accounting methods to record underlying transactions. The present research examines whether the accounting comparability among industry peers enhances the value relevance of earnings and book value. This is an important question because both the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Securities Exchange Commission seek greater comparability in financial reporting.Research

In order to study the subject based on the panel regression model, in the period 2010 to 2020, data of 111 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected and used to test research hypotheses.

The results show that accounting comparability increases the value relevance of earnings, but not book value. Financial statements that are more comparable do better in gaining the trust of users, which increases the value relevance of earnings per share. This means that when companies demonstrate the ability to compare more information than their industry counterparts, investors place a higher value on reported profits. However, the incremental benefits of accounting comparability are attenuated when financial reporting opacity is high or when there exists an internal control material weakness over financial reporting. In contrast, comparability benefits are enhanced when an industry specialist auditor is employed.

Main resources of acrylamide include tobacco smoking and fried foods with high temperatures as well as laboratory and occupational exposures. Acrylamide can cause carcinogenicity and neurotoxicity in animals and humans. Wheat sprout is an accessible herbal plant and contains a notable level of strong antioxidants and a high absorption rate. Therefore, the aim of the present study included investigating the protective effects of hydro alcoholic extract of wheat sprout against acrylamide toxicity in the hippocampal structure and spatial memory and learning of rats.

16 healthy adult rats were divided equally into 4 groups: control group (1 ml of distilled water), acrylamide group (50 mg/kg), wheat sprout group (200 mg/kg), and the treatment group receiving wheat sprout (200 mg/kg), and acrylamide (50 mg/kg). After 21 days, the Morris water maze test was done to study learning and spatial memory, and then blood and brain tissue samples were collected for serum biochemical and histological assessments, respectively.

After the second day, along with the training and learning process, the groups receiving acrylamide spent a longer duration finding the Morris platform compared to the control and wheat sprout groups. The histological structure showed a remarkable improvement in groups receiving wheat sprouts compared to the acrylamide group.

The results of the present study show that wheat sprouts can play a protective role against the negative effects of acrylamide in the histological structure as well as spatial memory and learning of the rats.

War toxin, mustard gas, alkylating agent results in male infertility via inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and DNA mutagenesis. SIRT1 and SIRT3 are multifunctional enzymes that involve in the DNA repair, oxidative stress responses. This study aim is to assess the correlation between serum levels of SIRT1, SIRT3 and both rs3758391T>C and rs185277566C>G gene polymorphisms with infertility in the war zones of Kermanshah province, Iran. In this case-control study based on the semen analysis, samples were divided into two groups infertile (n=100) and fertile (n=100). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to determine the malondialdehyde level, and also a sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test was used to evaluate the DNA fragmentation rate. Using the colorimetric assays, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was measured. SIRT1 and SIRT3 protein levels were determined by using ELISA. The genetic variants of SIRT1 rs3758391T>C, and SIRT3 rs185277566C>G, were detected by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length (PCR-RFLP) technique. Malondialdehyde (MDA) level and the percentage of DNA fragmentation were higher in infertile samples, but serum levels of SIRT1 and SIRT3, and SOD activity was lower in infertile compared to fertile samples (P<0.001). The TC+CC genotypes and the C allele from SIRT1 rs3758391T>C polymorphism, and CG+GG genotypes and the G allele from SIRT3 rs185277566C>G polymorphism could increase risk of infertility (P<0.05). The results of this study suggest that war toxins through the impact on genotypes, decreasing levels of SIRT1 and SIRT3 and increasing levels of oxidative stress, lead to defects in the concentration, motility and morphology of sperms and thus, infertility in men.

Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs) promote tissue homeostasis, contribute to the immune defense mechanisms, and play important roles in the initiation of immune responses and chronic inflammation. To understand the roles of innate lymphoid cells in the pathophysiology of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the mouse model. CRC was induced using azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in Balb/c mice (the chemically induced group=18 mice), or orthotopic injection of CT-26 cell line into the colon of another set of Balb/c mice (the orthotopic group=14mice). Normal saline was injected into 18 mice, as the sham group. After 80 days, the chemically induced group was divided into two subgroups, dysplasia (8 mice) and reparative change (10 mice), based on pathological examinations. The frequencies of ILC1, 2, and 3 were then measured in colon tissues using flow cytometry by four markers including an anti-mouse lineage cocktail (FITC anti-mCD3/FITC anti-mGr-1/FITC anti-mCD11b/ FITC anti-mCD45R (B220)/FITC anti-mTer-119), PE/Cy7 anti-mouse CD45, PE anti-mouse CD117 (c-kit), and APC anti-mouse IL-33 Rα (ST2). The total ILC population was significantly higher in the chemically induced reparative change compared with the sham group. ILC1 percentage in the chemically induced reparative change was significantly higher compared to those in the other three groups (Sham, chemically induced dysplasia and orthotopic dysplasia). The orthotopic dysplasia group showed more ILC3 percentage than the other groups. ILC1 and ILC3 subgroups increased significantly in reparative and dysplastic experimental CRC respectively. Thus ILC1 may have an inhibitory effect on tumor growth whereas ILC3 promotes tumor progression.

In this study, the aim is to investigate the effect of investors' Sentiments on the social responsibility performance of companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. Therefore, it tries to examine and evaluate how companies react to these Sentiment s and decide on the level of social responsibility resulting from companies' private information.

For this purpose, data related to 120 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2009 to 2020 were extracted and the combined data regression model was used to test the research hypotheses.

The first hypothesis shows that investors' Sentiments have a significant effect on corporate social responsibility activities. According to the research results, it can be stated that the second hypothesis of the research has been confirmed. Also, the results show that firm valuation constraints do not have a significant effect on the relationship between investor sentiment and corporate social responsibility activities. According to the fourth hypothesis, the effect of investors' Sentiments on the social performance of the company is confirmed in terms of stock turnover, but this hypothesis is rejected in terms of stock premium.

The results of this study indicate that social responsibility activities lead to an impact on stock markets. In other words, after high emotional periods, socially responsible companies get lower returns. Therefore, as an important corporate strategy, disclosure of social responsibility is influenced by the sentiments of the investor.

Lung cancer (LC) is the most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Patients with LC are usually diagnosed at advanced phases. Five-year survival rate in LC patients is approximately 16%. Despite decades of research on LC treatments, clinical outcomes are still very poor, necessitating to develop novel technologies to manage the disease. Considering the role of genetic and epigenetic changes in oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes in cancer progression, gene therapy provides a hot spot in cancer treatment research. Gene therapy offers less side effects compared to conventional methods such as chemotherapy. Unlike the traditional approaches of gene therapy that have temporary effects, using genetic modification tools can offer persistent cure. Over the past a few years, many studies have effectively used the CRISPR–Cas9 approach to modify gene expression in cells. This system is applied to induce site-specific mutagenesis and epigenetic modifications and regulate gene expression. In this review, we discuss recent applications of the CRISPR–Cas9 technology in treating LC.

Enzymes are one of the main biocatalysts with various applications in the food industry. Stabilization of enzymes on insoluble carriers is important due to the low reuse, low operational stability, and high cost in applications. The immobility and the type of carrier affect the activity of the immobile enzyme. Hydrogels are three-dimensionally cross-linked macromolecular network structures designed from various polymers. Hydrogels can provide a matrix for an immobile enzyme due to their extraordinary properties such as high water absorbing capacity, carrier of bioactive substances and enzymes, biocompatibility, safety, and biodegradability. Therefore, this study mainly focuses on some enzymes (Lactase, Lipases, Amylases, Pectinase, Protease, Glucose oxidase) that are of special importance in the food industry. These enzymes could be immobilized in the hydrogels constructed of macromolecules such as kappa-carrageenan, chitosan, arabic gum, pectin, alginate, and cellulose. At last, in the preparation of these hydrogels, different enzyme immobilization methods in macromolecular hydrogels, and effect of hydrogels on enzyme activity were discussed.

Violation of contractual conditions leads to the transmission of bad news due to poor performance and the expertise of auditors and regulatory mechanisms can be a factor in adjusting it. In this article, the purpose is to examine the role of strictness in the debt contract and the auditor's expertise.

In order to study the subject based on the logistic regression model, in the period 2012 to 2019, data of 113 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected and used to test research hypotheses.

The results of the first hypothesis of the research on the significant effect of auditing expertise in the industry on strictness in debt contracts have been confirmed. The second hypothesis of the research indicates that corporate governance mechanisms have a significant effect on the relationship between auditor expertise in the industry and strictness in debt contracts. Violation of the terms and obligations of debt contracts leads to the reflection of negative news in prices. In other words, corporate governance mechanisms in order to control and protect prices and also reduce the risk of information asymmetry for creditors, reduce the risk of managers and implement regulatory approaches to maintain the quality of financial statements that benefit Include creditors.

The ambiguity in the readability of financial statements has led to a reduction in the ability of investors to analyze and understand financial information and can be a factor in modifying the agency cost. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of audit quality and the quality of internal controls in adjusting the relationship between the readability of financial statements and agency costs. In order to study the subject, the combined data regression model was used during the period of 2009 to 2018 and the data of 120 companies accepted in the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected and used to test the research hypotheses. The results of the first hypothesis of the research based on the significant effect of financial statements readability on the company's agency costs have been confirmed. The second hypothesis of the research suggests that audit quality has a significant effect on the joint interaction of the readability of financial statements and agency costs. Finally, the results indicate that the quality of internal controls does not have a significant effect on the joint interaction of financial statements and company agency costs. The results of the research indicate that increased in readability of financial statements leads to an increase in the quality of information provided to minoring shareholders and analysts, and information asymmetry is reduced through more transparency between managers and stakeholders. . In other words, increasing the readability of financial statements by controlling managers' opportunistic behaviors leads to lower agency costs and the quality of audit due to improved disclosure quality, leads to a reduction in ambiguity in information and agency costs.

Inappropriate response of executives to investor sentiment can lead to litigation and misallocation of funds, for this reason, companies set up conservative accounting in response to investor sentiment. This paper investigates the association between investor sentiment and accounting conservatism. For this purpose, the data of 119 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange for the period of 2008 to 2017 were extracted and combined data regression model was used to test the research hypotheses. The results show that managers identify economic losses in a timely manner during periods with high investor sentiment. In addition, the relationship between sentiment and conservatism is stronger for companies whose values tend to be high. We also find that the relationship between sentiment and conservatism is higher for companies with higher litigation risk. Overall, our results suggest that companies report earnings more conservatively in response to higher investor sentiment in order to mitigate potential litigation costs. These findings have implications for regulators and standard setters who have deemphasized accounting conservatism in recent years.

Agency problems arise as a result of conflicts of interest between managers and shareholders. Auditing is seen as an effective way to limit the authority of managers in contractual relationships. The purpose of this paper is to examine the market competition, audit fee stickiness, and audit quality.

The subject of the study was based on the regression model of the combined data. During the period of 2008 to 2018, the data of the 72 companies accepted in the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected and used to test the research hypotheses.

The results show that the competitiveness of the audit services market has a negative and significant relationship with the upward stickiness. The results show that the insignificant relationship between the competition of the audit services market and the downward stickiness. Also, the relationship between upward audit fees stickiness and audit quality is significant. Finally, the results show the insignificant relationship between the downward audit fees stickiness and audit quality.

Based on the results of the study, it can be stated that higher competition leads to a change in the stickiness and thus, the downward price correction rate may reflect the limited bargaining power of the auditors over the clients that leads to a change in audit quality.
Contribution: Clients can bargain with the audit fee, anticipating a downward trend in audit fees. Also, auditors should be aware of the risks and opportunities associated with changes in audit fee factors, as there may be opportunities to increase the fee, reduce the audit work, or delay the fee reduction.

Agency problems result from the conflict of interests existing among managers and shareholders. Auditing is considered as an effective way to limit the power of managers in contractual relations.  This paper is aimed to investigate the market response to the quality of audit partners work. To test the hypothesis, data from firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange for the period from 2009 to 2017 are collected and the regression model of cross-sectional data and panel data is used. The results of the first hypothesis of the research confirm that in firms with high quality work of audit partners, revenue has a higher reflection in stock prices. The high quality of the audit partner's work manages and controls information asymmetry and, therefore, the agency's problems related to the firm's management decisions. The second hypothesis that is changing the auditor and selecting a higher quality auditor leads to a positive market reaction, is also confirmed. If the market believes that using higher quality auditors increases the information content of profits and decreases abnormal returns, the audit market response when changing auditors and selecting a higher quality auditing partner is closer to reality (predicted levels). Also, the results confirms the third hypothesis that is auditing by high quality auditing partners has a significant impact on the amount of facilities received. Because the quality of the audit partners’ work has a significant impact on the creditors' view of the risk and timing of the repayment of receivables, therefore the amount of facilities granted increases. On the other hand, the stock price in these firms is a reflection of the real income of them. ‌

Epigenetic mechanisms are the most important factors contributing to both the development and metastasis of cancer cells. We aimed to scrutinize the role of epigenetic alternations of genes involved in cancer metastasis, including CD44v6 (metastasis indicator) and Nm23-H1 (a novel tumor suppressor), in the A549 lung cancer cell line. The A549 cells were cultured in the DMEM medium. Valproic acid (VPA) was used as a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Caspase-3 activity was assessed by adding DEVD-pNA substrate to the cell lysate. Gene expression was determined by real-time PCR. Finally, protein expression was assessed by western blot. The results showed that VA significantly decreased the expression of the CD44v6 gene and its protein level. This was further accompanied by lower expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 genes. On the other hand, the expression of Nm23-H1 and its protein were significantly increased in the cells accompanied by higher activity of caspase-3 (P ˂ 0.05). Our results showed that epigenetic regulation of CD44v6, Nm23-H1, MMP-2, and MMP-9 might be involved in the pathogenesis and metastasis of lung cancer. Therefore, the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors can be effective in the suppression of metastases and the treatment of these tumors.

The desire to change the dividend payment method can indicate the ability of managers to control fluctuations in the capital market, so that managers limit changes in dividends to cover the risk of these fluctuations. In this research, the aim is to investigate the role of managers' ability and dividends smoothing in changing the information content of current earnings.

For this purpose, data related to 120 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange for the period 2008 to 2019 has been extracted and the combined data regression model has been used to test research hypotheses.

The results indicate the confirmation of the first and second hypotheses of the research. In other words, the research results indicate that the ability of managers leads to increased dividends smoothing. In addition, the results of the second hypothesis of the research indicate a significant relationship between the managers’ ability and the information content of dividends smoothing.

Managers with high ability are more inclined n deliberately smooth dividends, and this smoothness relates to the company's future profitability. Managers with high ability provide information about the future earnings in the form of smoothing current dividends, given their skills in forecasting and estimating future performance.

The tendency to change the way investment is due to the lack of transparency in the financial situation and the unfavorable business strategy is created so that managers change business strategies in order to cover the risk arising from non-receipt of compensation. In this paper, the goal is to examine the role of managerial compensation in changing the relationship between business strategies and over (under) investment. For this purpose, data on 120 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange for the period of 1385 to 1396 were extracted and a hybrid data regression model was used to test the research hypotheses. The research results indicate that prospector strategy leads to over-investment. Also, the results of the second hypothesis of the research show that managers' compensation is significantly affected by the relationship between prospector strategy and over investment. The third hypothesis of the research indicates that a conservative strategy leads to under investment. Finally, managerial compensation has no meaningful effect on the coherent interaction of conservative strategy and under investment.