Determinants of labour demand on the basis of enterprises’ opinions in business survey data

Labour market situation with high persistent unemployment includes undertaking empirical and theoretical researches on the factors determining labour demand. In the present paper an attempt at describing the factors determining labour demand based on enterprises’ opinions in monthly business survey data was undertaken. The analyses of the factors determining labour demand were carried out for a manufactory at aggregated level and also for individual branches of manufactory. The results of the research allow us to affirm that the most often the labour demand is determined by the current level of production and reserves of products. Part of the analysis concerning the branches allows us to observe a sufficiently big variety of factors determining the labour demand. It can be supposed that economic theories explain the labour demand at aggregated level but in individual branches of manufactory there can occur differences in factors decisive in workers’ employment as a result of market structure in those branches.labour demand, business surveys

IMPROVING THE COMPETITIVENESS - DETERMINANTS AND SOLUTIONS FOR QUALITY OF LOCAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS

The competitiveness is a multidimensional concept, being analysed at different levels. National and company competitiveness are deeply investigated, however, less attention is given to regional competitiveness. The importance of regional competitiveness arises from the factuality that it creates the quality of local conditions for companies' operations. Following this rational, two main goals of this researchare accepted. First goal is to model the impact of selected determinants on regional competitiveness, using a multiple linear regression model. The second goal is to propose activities that need to be implemented with the aim to improve the competitive performance of the analyzed regions. The model proves the positive impact of international exchange, human resources, and innovation, so future measures and activities at the regional, city and municipal levels need to be focused on strengthening these determinants

Tranexamic acid use in emergency medicine

The most common cause of potentially preventable trauma deaths is hemorrhage. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms regulating bleeding and clotting. The physiological mechanisms that control the coagulation process are called the coagulation cascade. In this study, we analyzed the medical literature for published articles on the use of TXA for bleeding. The MEDLINE electronic database was searched for. The keywords we have used were: “tranexamic acid”, “bleeding”, “hemorrhage”, “treatment”, “prevention”, “patient blood management”, “anti-fibrinolytic”, “surgery”, “surgery”, “trauma”, “injury” and “traumatic brain injury”. When managing the traumatic patient, time is of the essence and the same holds true for the TXA application. The largest study regarding the use of TXA in the emergency medicine CRASH-2 found that the administration of TXA within 3 hours following injury significantly reduces the mortality and that every 15-min delay in administering TXA results in increased bleeding and decreased survival by 10%, offering no benefit if administered after 3 hours. In summary, TXA is a safe and reliable agent which greatly increases the survival rate in traumatic patients suffering blood loss, reducing mortality while being safe

Structure and magnetic properties of thermodynamically predicted rapidly quenched Fe85-xCuxB15 alloys

In this work, based on the thermodynamic prediction, the comprehensive studies of the influence of Cu for Fe substitution on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the rapidly quenched Fe85B15 alloy in the ribbon form are performed. Using thermodynamic calculations, the parabolic shape dependence of the DGamoprh with a minimum value at 0.6% of Cu was predicted. The DGamoprh from the Cu content dependence shape is also asymmetric, and, for Cu = 0% and Cu = 1.5%, the same DGamoprh value is observed. The heat treatment optimization process of all alloys showed that the least lossy (with a minimum value of core power losses) is the nanocomposite state of nanocrystals immersed in an amorphous matrix obtained by annealing in the temperature range of 300–330 C for 20 min. The minimum value of core power losses P10/50 (core power losses at 1T@50Hz) of optimally annealed Fe85-xCuxB15 x = 0,0.6,1.2% alloys come from completely different crystallization states of nanocomposite materials, but it strongly correlates with Cu content and, thus, a number of nucleation sites. The TEM observations showed that, for the Cu-free alloy, the least lossy crystal structure is related to 2–3 nm short-ordered clusters; for the Cu = 0.6% alloy, only the limited value of several -Fe nanograins are found, while for the Cu-rich alloy with Cu = 1.2%, the average diameter of nanograins is about 26 nm, and they are randomly distributed in the amorphous matrix. The only high number of nucleation sites in the Cu = 1.2% alloy allows for a sufficient level of grains’ coarsening of the -Fe phase that strongly enhances the ferromagnetic exchange between the -Fe nanocrystals, which is clearly seen with the increasing value of saturation induction up to 1.7T. The air-annealing process tested on studied alloys for optimal annealing conditions proves the possibility of its use for this type of material

A systematic review and meta-analysis of effect of vitamin D levels on the incidence of COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease primarily affecting the respiratory tract, however due to the nature of the pathogenesis it is able to affect the whole body. So far, no causative treatment has been found and the main strategy when dealing with COVID-19 relies on widespread vaccination programs and symptomatic treatment. Vitamin D due to its ability to modulate the immunological system has been proposed as a factor playing role in the organism response to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Therefore, we decided to perform this meta-analysis which aimed to establish a connection between vitamin D status and COVID-19 infection.Methods: Study was designed as a systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Collaboration Databases and Scopus electronic databases were searched for relevant studies from database inception to May 10th, 2021. Mean differences (MDs) with their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.Results: Thirteen studies providing data for 14,485 participants met the inclusion criteria. Mean vitamin D levels in SARS-CoV-2 negative patients was 17.7 ± 6.9 ng/mL compared to SARS-CoV-2 positive patients 14.1 ± 8.2 ng/mL (MD = 3.93; 95% CI 2.84–5.02; I2 = 99%; p < 0.001).Conclusions: Low serum vitamin D levels are statistically significantly associated with the risk of COVID-19 infection. Supplementation of vitamin D especially in the deficiency risk groups is indicated

Vitamin D supplementation to treat SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. Evidence from meta-analysis

Background: Vitamin D is a likely candidate for treatment as its immune modulating characteristics have effects on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. It was  sought herein, to summarize the studies published to date regarding the vitamin D supplementation to treat severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive patients. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The primary outcome were 14-day and in-hospital mortality reported as an odds ratio (OR) with the associated 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Eight articles were included in the review with a combined total of 2,322 individual patients, 786 in the vitamin D supplementation group and 1,536 in the control group. The use of vitamin D compared to the group without vitamin D supplementation was associated with a lower 14-day mortality (18.8% vs. 31.3%, respectively; OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.12–2.19; p = 0.36), a lower in-hospital mortality (5.6% vs. 16.1%; OR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.23–1.37; I2 = 74%; p = 0.20), the rarer intensive care unit admission (6.4% vs. 23.4%; OR = 0.19; 95% CI: 0.06–0.54; I2 = 77%; p = 0.002) as well as rarer mechanical ventilation (6.5% vs. 18.9%; OR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.16–0.80; I2 = 0.48; p = 0.01). Conclusions: Vitamin D supplementation in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients has the potential to positively impact patients with both mild and severe symptoms. As several high-quality randomized control studies have demonstrated a benefit in hospital mortality, vitamin D should be considered a supplemental therapy of strong interest. Should vitamin D prove to reduce hospitalization rates and symptoms outside of the hospital setting, the cost and benefit to global pandemic mitigation efforts would be substantial

Place of tranexamic acid in traumatic brain injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability. In many cases of TBI-related intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with a high risk of coagulopathy and may lead to an increased risk of hemorrhage growth. Therefore, tranexamic acid (TXA), which is known as an antifibrinolytic agent that reduces bleeding by inhibiting the breakdown of blood clots, might limit ICH expansion.   MATERIAL AND METHODS: We aimed to quantify the effects of TXA in brain injury and thus performed a literaturę search using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and Cochrane Center Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) for studies that were published between the respective database inception, and April 10, 2021.   RESULTS: A total of nine studies were identified; these included 5845 patients treated with, and 5380 treated without TXA. The 28-day or in-hospital mortality was 17.8% for the TXA group, compared with 19.3% for the no-TXA group (OR = 0.92; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.01; p = 0.08). At 6-months follow-up, mortality was 18.3% vs 19.9% (OR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.63–1.31; p = 0.60), with and without TXA, respectively. A Glasgow Outcome Scale less than 4 points at 28-days follow-up was reported in 3 studies and was 29.8% vs 34.8% (OR = 0.91; 95% CI: 0.45, 1.82; p = 0.78), with and without TXA, respectively. No differences were found in adverse events between TXA and non-TXA groups.   CONCLUSION: Our analysis found showed no statistical significance between TXA and non-TXA treatment of TBI patients, however, in the TXA group a trend to decrease 28-day mortality compared to non-TXA treatment was observed. More high-quality studies are needed to show the significant benefit of using TXA, especially in moderate and severe TBI patient groups

International Trade in the High-Tech Sector—Support or Obstacle to Start-Up Processes at the Macro Level in European Union Countries?

High-tech internationalization touches on two aspects impacting entrepreneurship: openness of the economy and its level of innovativeness. Both of them might positively or negatively affect the process of new company creations, as suggested by the concept of entrepreneurial regime with creative destruction or by the concept of routinized regime with creative accumulation. The aim of the article is to assess the impact of high-tech internationalization on the start-up process of new company creation. Cluster analysis and panel modeling for European Union countries in 2009–2018 were conducted. The research results distinguish clusters of European Union countries with a different level of high-tech internationalization. The impact of high-tech internationalization on start-up rates is significant in the case of both clusters; however, it is stronger in the cluster of countries with a relatively higher level of high-tech international openness. The high-tech intra-EU import and extra-EU high-tech export negatively affect the rate of new enterprise creation in both clusters. Additionally, extra-EU import in clusters with a relatively higher level of high-tech internationalization also negatively impacts start-up rates. The only aspect supporting the start-up process is the level of intra-EU export in clusters with higher levels of high-tech internationalization. The results suggest that in European Union countries, creative accumulation is the dominant phenomenon

Business collaboration with universities as an example of corporate social responsibility – a case study on case study collaboration

International audienc

Trust in European Institutions in Explaining the Entrepreneurship in European Union Countries

Entrepreneurship is believed to be shaped by institutions; however, the paper assumes that trust in institutions is a fundamental prerequisite for the impact of institutions on entrepreneurship. The aims of the paper are to determine (i) whether trust in European institutions affects the level of entrepreneurship in European Union countries, and (ii) whether there are any differences in this impact regarding the types of institutions and (iii) a country’s government budget size. Based on yearly panel data for 27 European Union countries in the years 2004–2019 and estimations of panel regression models, the results show that confidence in institutions is a significant factor in explaining entrepreneurship. However, institutional trust has no homogeneous effect on entrepreneurship, as the impact depends on the kind of institutions related to their functions and values as well as on the country’s characteristics in relation to the size of the government’s budget. Practical implications suggest the possibilities of supporting entrepreneurship—especially in countries with a relatively lower public redistribution—by raising the level of confidence in the European Central Bank. The originality of the paper is related to distinguishing institutional trust based on the type of institutions and the country’s characteristics of governmental budget size