THE RELATION BETWEEN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: ANALYTICAL APPROACH AT THE LEVEL OF THE RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

This paper presents the contribution of corporate governance to the risk management system of an enterprise from the perspective of the financial leverage. We assume that companies with a strong corporate governance framework are likely to enhance the optimality of their financial structure. We perform a literature overview on this topic, in parallel with an empirical approach that brings forth the effect of corporate governance framework on the company financial structure, with a special focus on leverage. The empirical approach is developed using the Ordinary Least Squares methodology; the results of the research reflect a strong impact of corporate governance on the company financial structure. We construct this finding from the perspective of the beneficial effects of an enhanced corporate governance framework which reduces agency costs, conferring to the company more credibility in the eyes of creditors.capital structure, financial management, governance, leverage, risk management

THE DIVERSITY OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MODELS. OVERVIEW AT THE COUNTRY LEVEL

This paper concentrates on the key features of corporate governance models; first, it highlights the correlation between corporate governance and the economic welfare; secondly it sets forth the characteristics of the models at the country level. The focus is placed on the correlations between the key elements that are intrinsic to the governance evolution in time

LOCAL CONDITIONS AND IMPACTS OF THE AVALANCHES. CASE STUDIES IN REPRESENTATIVE SECTORS WITHIN PIATRA CRAIULUI AND FĂGĂRAȘ MOUNTAINS

Genesis conditions and effects of avalanches. Case studies in representative sectors within Piatra Craiului and Fagars mountains. The present paper aims at investigating the avalanches and their impact on the environment components. Snow avalanches are natural phenomena, which are controlled by the specific features of the mountain realm. They start suddenly due to the combination of meteorological and non-meteorological factors, which make the loose materials (snow, ice, detritus, vegetation or soil) collapse or slide down along the slope. In consequence, erosion is increased or facilitated because of the impact they have on the other components of the environment (thalwegs deepening, forest destruction). The distribution of avalanches is hard to be highlighted, because of the inaccessible lands and the adverse meteorological conditions. From this reason, one needs to know their complex features, namely the morphology, vegetation and spatial dynamics of the areas prone to such phenomena. The effects on the environment can be easily identified in the mountain realm, inasmuch as they create typical corridors along the streams crossing the forests. At the same time, however, they have certain effects on the slope deposits, too. These will be further presented with examples for the eastern slope of the Piatra Craiului Mts. and the Suru – Negoiu section in the Făgăraș Mts. These areas are deemed representative for each of the mentioned mountain massifs

Reachability in Biochemical Dynamical Systems by Quantitative Discrete Approximation (extended abstract)

In this paper, a novel computational technique for finite discrete approximation of continuous dynamical systems suitable for a significant class of biochemical dynamical systems is introduced. The method is parameterized in order to affect the imposed level of approximation provided that with increasing parameter value the approximation converges to the original continuous system. By employing this approximation technique, we present algorithms solving the reachability problem for biochemical dynamical systems. The presented method and algorithms are evaluated on several exemplary biological models and on a real case study.Comment: In Proceedings CompMod 2011, arXiv:1109.104

Contributions à la connaissance des faunes de Mammifères pléistocènes de la Dépression de Brasov (Roumanie)

Die Autoren befassen sich in dieser Arbeit mit der Geologie und der Paläontologie der Becken von Baraolt und Sfintu-Gheorghe, welche zu der im Südosten von Transylvanien (Siebenbürgen) gelegenen Senke von Brasov (Kronstadt) gehören. Diese Senkung tektonischen Ursprungs bildete fast während des ganzen Pleistozäns ein großes Seebecken. Die auf mesozoischem Grund abgelagerten Sedimente wurden in vier Horizonte eingeteilt, welche gleichzeitig ebenso vielen Phasen in der Entwicklung der Becken entsprechen. Die Säugetierfauna dieser Horizonte wurde in drei Hauptkomplexe gruppiert, welche dem Unter-, Mittel- und Oberpleistozän entsprechen. Der erste faunistische Komplex umfaßt zwei Phasen, der zweite drei und der letzte eine einzige Phase.researc

Computer simulations of end-tapering anchorages of EBR FRP-strengthened prestressed concrete slabs at service conditions

This article examines numerically the behavior of prestressed reinforced concrete slabs strengthened with externally bonded reinforcement (EBR) consisting of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets. The non-linear finite element (FE) program Abaqus® is used to model EBR FRP-strengthened prestressed concrete slabs tested previously in four-point bending. After the calibration of the computational models, a parametric study is then conducted to assess the influence of the FRP axial stiffness (thickness and modulus of elasticity) on the interfacial normal and shear stresses. The numerical analysis results show that increasing the thickness or the elastic modulus of the FRP strengthening affects the efficiency of the FRP bonding and makes it susceptible to earlier debonding failures. A tapering technique is proposed in wet lay-up applications since multiple FRP layers are often required. It is shown that by gradually decreasing the thickness of the FRP strengthening, the concentration of stress along the plate end can be reduced, and thus, the overall strengthening performance is maximized. The tapering is successful in reducing the bond stress concentrations by up to 15%, which can be sufficient to prevent concrete rip-off and peel-off debonding failure modes. This article contributes towards a better understanding of the debonding phenomena in FRP-strengthened elements in flexure and towards the development of more efficient computational tools to analyze such structures

Pathway-based expression profiling of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer delineates an immunophilin molecule associated with cancer progression

Aberrant restoration of AR activity is linked with prostate tumor growth, therapeutic failures and development of castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Understanding the processes leading to ARreactivation should provide the foundation for novel avenues of drug discovery. A differential gene expression study was conducted using biopsies from CaP and BPH patients to identify the components putatively responsible for reinstating AR activity in CaP. From the set of genes upregulated in CaP, FKBP52, an AR co-chaperone, was selected for further analysis. Expression of FKBP52 was positively correlated with that of c-Myc. The functional cross-talk between c-Myc and FKBP52 was established using c-Myc specific-siRNA to LNCaP cells that resulted in reduction of FKBP52. A non-canonical E-box sequence housing a putative c-Myc binding site was detected on the FKBP4 promoter using in silico search. LNCaP cells transfected with the FKBP52 promoter cloned in pGL3 basic showed increased luciferase activity which declined considerably when the promoter-construct was co-transfected with c-Myc specific-siRNA. ChIP-PCR confirmed the binding of c-Myc with the conserved E-box located in the FKBP52 promoter. c-Myc downregulation concomitantly affected expression of FGF8. Since expression of FGF8 is controlled by AR, our study unveiled a novel functional axis between c-Myc, AR and FGF8 operating through FKBP52

Hyperoxia increases the uptake of 5-fluorouracil in mammary tumors independently of changes in interstitial fluid pressure and tumor stroma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypoxia is associated with increased resistance to chemo- and radiation-therapy. Hyperoxic treatment (hyperbaric oxygen) has previously been shown to potentiate the effect of some forms of chemotherapy, and this has been ascribed to enhanced cytotoxicity or neovascularisation. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether hyperoxia also enhances any actual uptake of 5FU (5-fluorouracil) into the tumor tissue and if this can be explained by changes in the interstitium and extracellular matrix.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One group of tumor bearing rats was exposed to repeated hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment (2 bar, pO₂= 2 bar, 4 exposures à 90 min), whereas one group was exposed to one single identical HBO treatment. Animals housed under normal atmosphere (1 bar, pO₂= 0.2 bar) served as controls. Three doses of 5FU were tested for dose response. Uptake of [³H]-5FU in the tumor was assessed, with special reference to factors that might have contributed, such as interstitial fluid pressure (P_if), collagen content, oxygen stress (measured as malondialdehyd levels), lymphatics and transcapillary transport in the tumors.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The uptake of the cytostatic agent increases immediately after a single HBO treatment (more than 50%), but not 24 hours after the last repeated HBO treatment. Thus, the uptake is most likely related to the transient increase in oxygenation in the tumor tissue. Factors like tumor P_ifand collagen content, which decreased significantly in the tumor interstitium after repeated HBO treatment, was without effect on the drug uptake.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We showed that hyperoxia increases the uptake of [³H]-5FU in DMBA-induced mammary tumors <it>per se</it>, independently of changes in P_if, oxygen stress, collagen fibril density, or transendothelial transport alone. The mechanism by which such an uptake occur is still not elucidated, but it is clearly stimulated by elevated pO₂.</p