Family businesses in Eastern European countries: How informal payments affect exports

This article investigates the effect of corruption on the export share of family firms in Eastern European countries. Using the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey and panel data methods, we find that, in contrast to non-family firms, family firms are rather sensitive to corruption. In particular, the export share of family firms is positively associated with informal payments that aim to facilitate business operations. There are at least three compelling explanations for these results. First, if family firms are more risk averse than non-family firms, informal payments may represent additional export risk insurance. Second, informal payments may help family firms compensate for the lack of managerial capabilities to export. Finally, when institutional inefficiencies obstruct business, corruption may be a tool for family firms to protect their socioemotional wealth

Why and when do family firms invest less in talent management? The suppressor effect of risk aversion

none4siThis article explores the complex relationship between family firms and talent management practices. We use an international sample of medium-sized manufacturing firms to show that the relationship between family-owned firms and investment in talent management practices is mediated by the firm’s level of risk aversion, which is, in turn, moderated by industry competition. Risk-averse family-owned firms tend to invest less in talent management practices when industry competition is weak. In contrast, when competition increases, family-owned firms tend to invest in talent as much as non-family-owned firms do.openBasco, Rodrigo; Bassetti, Thomas; Dal Maso, Lorenzo; Lattanzi, NicolaBasco, Rodrigo; Bassetti, Thomas; Dal Maso, Lorenzo; Lattanzi, Nicol

Spritzenabszesse bei intravenös Drogenabhängigen: Häufigkeit assoziierter Komplikationen in Abhängigkeit der Lokalisation

Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Haut- und Weichteilabszesse sind bei intravenös Drogenabhängigen der häufigste Hospitalisationsgrund. Zu den mit Spritzenabszessen assoziierten Komplikationen gehören septische Arthritiden, septische Thrombosen und Embolien, lokale Schädigung von umliegenden Strukturen, periphere Ischämie durch intraarterielle Injektion, Pseudoaneurysmata von Venen und Arterien und die nekrotisierende Fasziitis. Material und Methode: Wir führten eine retrospektive Studie von 108Hospitalisationen bei 85Patienten mit insgesamt 130Abszessen in Hinblick auf die aufgetretenen Komplikationen durch. Ergebnisse: Fünfundfünfzig Prozent der Abszesse waren an der unteren Extremität lokalisiert. Die Komplikationsrate an dieser Lokalisation war mit 12/71 (16,9%) signifikant höher (p=0,0005) als an der oberen Extremität mit 0/55. Abszesse an der unteren Extremität führten zu einer signifikant längeren Hospitalisationsdauer als solche an der oberen Extremität (8,5 vs. 4,2Tage, p=0,005) und damit zu höheren Kosten. Schlussfolgerung: Bei der Behandlung von Spritzenabszessen der unteren Extremität muss an das erhöhte Risiko assoziierter Komplikationen gedacht werden. In den Beratungsstellen durchzuführende präventive Maßnahmen könnten durch Vermeiden von Injektionen an den unteren Extremitäten zu einer Verminderung der durch den Drogenkonsum verursachten Kosten führe

Behaviors of susceptible-infected epidemics on scale-free networks with identical infectivity

In this article, we proposed a susceptible-infected model with identical infectivity, in which, at every time step, each node can only contact a constant number of neighbors. We implemented this model on scale-free networks, and found that the infected population grows in an exponential form with the time scale proportional to the spreading rate. Further more, by numerical simulation, we demonstrated that the targeted immunization of the present model is much less efficient than that of the standard susceptible-infected model. Finally, we investigated a fast spreading strategy when only local information is available. Different from the extensively studied path finding strategy, the strategy preferring small-degree nodes is more efficient than that preferring large-degree nodes. Our results indicate the existence of an essential relationship between network traffic and network epidemic on scale-free networks.Comment: 5 figures and 7 page

The burden of severe cases of Influenza disease: The Friuli Venezia Giulia Region experience

IIntroduction. Influenza is a matter of serious concern for clinicians, in both outpatient and in-hospital settings. Worldwide, the 2017-18 epidemic proved to be the most severe since 2003-04. We report a real-world experience regarding the management of patients with influenza admitted to a large teaching hospital in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region during the 2017-2018 influenza season. We also provide a practical guide for the management of hospitalized influenza patients. Methods. A retrospective observational analysis was conducted among all influenza patients requiring admission to our center during the 2017-18 season. Results. Overall, 29 patients were admitted to the University Hospital of Udine during the 2017-18 season with a diagnosis of influenza. B virus was responsible for the majority of cases. More than 65.5% of the subjects presented with a complication. We estimated that 41.4% of the patients admitted were affected by a \u201csevere form\u201d. All these cases required admission to the Intensive Care Unit, with 27.6% and 10.3% needing Orotracheal Intubation and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, respectively. The fatality rate was 24.1%. Notably, only 9 subjects in our cohort had been vaccinated. Based on the experience acquired during the past season, we propose a practical guide to the management of influenza cases in everyday hospital practice. Conclusion. The cornerstones of the management of all hospitalized influenza patients are the rapid identification and treatment of severe forms. Timely and strict adherence to contact and respiratory precautions are also fundamental to reducing the risk of intra-hospital outbreaks. Despite improvements in antiviral therapies and supportive measures, influenza-related morbidity and mortality remain high. In our opinion, a universal vaccination program is the only safe and effective method of filling the gap

Variability of the intensity of the Tsushima Warm Current and bottom water ventilation in western North Pacific marginal seas during the Pleistocene: preliminary results from IODP Expedition 346 (Sites U1427 and U1428) based on ostracod assemblages

Blue posters: no. EGU2015-14259IODP Expedition 346 drilled Sites U1427 and U1428 in ideal locations to monitor changes in (i) the intensity of the influx of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC), and (ii) the intermediate bottom water ventilation from a few hundred thousand years to over a million years in the western North Pacific marginal seas. Site U1427 is located at 330 m water depth in the marginal sea bordered by the Eurasian continent, the Korean peninsula and the Japanese Islands. This semi-enclosed marginal sea has an average water depth of 1350 m and is connected with other marginal seas in the region by shallow, narrow straits. Site U1428 is located at 724 m in the East China Sea and this region is more influenced by continental freshwater runoff derived from the Yangtze River. Both sites are in the path of the TWC, a branch of the Kuroshio Current, the only warm current flowing into …published_or_final_versio

Deflections in Magnet Fringe Fields

A transverse multipole expansion is derived, including the longitudinal components necessarily present in regions of varying magnetic field profile. It can be used for exact numerical orbit following through the fringe field regions of magnets whose end designs introduce no extraneous components, {\it i.e.} fields not required to be present by Maxwell's equations. Analytic evaluations of the deflections are obtained in various approximations. Mainly emphasized is a ``straight-line approximation'', in which particle orbits are treated as straight lines through the fringe field regions. This approximation leads to a readily-evaluated figure of merit, the ratio of r.m.s. end deflection to nominal body deflection, that can be used to determine whether or not a fringe field can be neglected. Deflections in ``critical'' cases (e.g. near intersection regions) are analysed in the same approximation.Comment: To be published in Physical Review

Thomson Scattering of Coherent Diffraction Radiation by an Electron Bunch

The paper considers the process of Thomson scattering of coherent diffraction radiation (CDR) produced by the preceding bunch of the accelerator on one of the following bunches. It is shown that the yield of scattered hard photons is proportional to N$_e^3$, where N$_e$ is the number of electrons per bunch. A geometry is chosen for the CDR generation and an expression is obtained for the scattered photon spectrum with regard to the geometry used, that depends in an explicit form on the bunch size. A technique is proposed for measuring the bunch length using scattered radiation characteristics.Comment: 14 pages, LATEX, 6 ps.gz figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Diffusion-weighted MRI in acute spinal cord ischaemia

Abstract : Acute spinal cord ischaemia is often undetectable with conventional MRI. Diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) has been difficult to use in the spine because of susceptibility artefacts. We assessed the diagnostic value of echoplanar DWI for early confirmation of spinal cord ischaemia. We performed conventional MRI and DWI in two men and three women, aged 54-75years with clinically suspected acute spinal cord ischaemia. Imaging was performed 9-46h after the onset of symptoms, and 2-9days later to assess the extent of ischaemic signal change. Spatial resolution of DWI within the spine using standard equipment was poor, but in all patients, early DWI revealed areas of high signal indicating decreased diffusion, confirmed by measurement of apparent diffusion coefficients. Follow-up MRI showed high signal on T2-weighted images and contrast enhancement at the expected levels. Neurological deficits corresponded with radiological findings in four patients: various syndromes, including isolated bilateral weakness or sensory change and combined deficits, were found. Echoplanar DWI may be helpful for confirmation of spinal cord ischaemia in the acute stage, but follow-up T2-weighted images have superior spatial resolution and correlation with clinical findings and lesion exten

Timing of antibiotic therapy in the ICU

Severe or life threatening infections are common among patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Most infections in the ICU are bacterial or fungal in origin and require antimicrobial therapy for clinical resolution. Antibiotics are the cornerstone of therapy for infected critically ill patients. However, antibiotics are often not optimally administered resulting in less favorable patient outcomes including greater mortality. The timing of antibiotics in patients with life threatening infections including sepsis and septic shock is now recognized as one of the most important determinants of survival for this population. Individuals who have a delay in the administration of antibiotic therapy for serious infections can have a doubling or more in their mortality. Additionally, the timing of an appropriate antibiotic regimen, one that is active against the offending pathogens based on in vitro susceptibility, also influences survival. Thus not only is early empiric antibiotic administration important but the selection of those agents is crucial as well. The duration of antibiotic infusions, especially for β-lactams, can also influence antibiotic efficacy by increasing antimicrobial drug exposure for the offending pathogen. However, due to mounting antibiotic resistance, aggressive antimicrobial de-escalation based on microbiology results is necessary to counterbalance the pressures of early broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. In this review, we examine time related variables impacting antibiotic optimization as it relates to the treatment of life threatening infections in the ICU. In addition to highlighting the importance of antibiotic timing in the ICU we hope to provide an approach to antimicrobials that also minimizes the unnecessary use of these agents. Such approaches will increasingly be linked to advances in molecular microbiology testing and artificial intelligence/machine learning. Such advances should help identify patients needing empiric antibiotic therapy at an earlier time point as well as the specific antibiotics required in order to avoid unnecessary administration of broad-spectrum antibiotics