Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously.Corporate Governance; Stakeholder influence; Management dismissal

Einfluss von Pantoprazol auf die Frakturheilung im Alter

Protonenpumpeninhibitoren wie Pantoprazol gehören zu den am häufigsten verschriebenen Medikamenten. Ihre Einnahme ist mit einem erhöhten Frakturrisiko assoziiert. Bei jungen Mäusen konnte gezeigt werden, dass die Frakturheilung durch Gabe von Pantoprazol beeinträchtigt wird. Ob die Frakturheilung auch im Alter beeinflusst wird, wurde bisher nicht untersucht. Daher war es Ziel dieser Studie, den Einfluss von Pantoprazol auf die Frakturheilung bei alten Mäusen zu untersuchen. Hierfür wurden die Femora von sechzig 16 Monate alten Mäusen geschlossen frakturiert und mit einer intramedullären Zugschraube stabilisiert. Die Applikation von Pantoprazol (n = 31) erfolgte durch eine tägliche intraperitoneale Injektion von 100 mg/kg Körpergewicht gelöst in isotoner Kochsalzlösung. Die Kontrollgruppe (n = 29) erhielt eine äquivalente Menge einer isotonen Kochsalzlösung. Die Frakturheilung wurde mittels biomechanischer, radiologischer, histologischer und proteinbiochemischer Analysen untersucht. Die Biegesteifigkeit war in der Pantoprazolgruppe erniedrigt. Dies war mit einem geringeren Anteil an Knochengewebe, einer verminderten Trabekeldicke und einem erhöhten Anteil an Bindegewebe innerhalb des Frakturkallus assoziiert. Die proteinbiochemische Analyse ergab eine verminderte Expression des Knochenformationsmarkers bone morphogenetic protein 4 sowie ein vermindertes Verhältnis von bone morphogenetic protein 4 zu vascular endothelial growth factor. Des Weiteren zeigte sich ein erhöhtes Verhältnis von receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B zu Osteoprotegerin. Entsprechend war die Anzahl an Osteoklasten nach 2 Wochen erhöht. Nach 5 Wochen war deren Anzahl im Vergleich zur Kontrollgruppe hingegen erniedrigt. Insgesamt konnte gezeigt werden, dass Pantoprazol die Frakturheilung bei alten Mäusen beeinträchtigt. Es zeigte sich sowohl eine Störung der Knochenformation als auch der Knochenresorption.Proton pump inhibitors such as pantoprazole are among the most frequently prescribed drugs. Their use is associated with an increased fracture risk and one study could demonstrate that pantoprazole impairs fracture healing in young mice. It has not yet been investigated whether proton pump inhibitors affect fracture healing in the elderly. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the influence of pantoprazole on fracture healing in aged mice. Closed femur fractures were created in sixty 16-month-old mice and stabilised with an intramedullary compression screw. Pantoprazole (n = 31) was administered by a daily intraperitoneal injection of 100 mg/kg body weight dissolved in normal saline. The control group (n = 29) received an equivalent amount of normal saline. Fracture healing was investigated using biomechanical, radiological, histological and protein biochemical analyses. Bending stiffness was reduced in pantoprazole treated animals. This was associated with a reduced amount of bony tissue, a reduced trabecular thickness and an elevated amount of fibrous tissue within the fracture callus. The protein biochemical analysis revealed a decreased expression of the bone formation marker bone morphogenetic protein 4 and a decreased ratio of bone morphogenetic protein 4 to vascular endothelial growth factor. Moreover, the ratio of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B to osteoprotegerin was elevated. Correspondingly, the number of osteoclasts was elevated after 2 weeks. After 5 weeks, however, their number was reduced in comparison to the control group. In conclusion, this study has shown that pantoprazole impairs fracture healing in aged mice. Both bone formation and resorption were disturbed

Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously

Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously

Pantoprazole impairs fracture healing in aged mice

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) belong to the most common medication in geriatric medicine. They are known to reduce osteoclast activity and to delay fracture healing in young adult mice. Because differentiation and proliferation in fracture healing as well as pharmacologic actions of drugs markedly differ in the elderly compared to the young, we herein studied the effect of the PPI pantoprazole on bone healing in aged mice using a murine fracture model. Bone healing was analyzed by biomechanical, histomorphometric, radiological and protein biochemical analyses. The biomechanical analysis revealed a significantly reduced bending stiffness in pantoprazole-treated animals when compared to controls. This was associated with a decreased amount of bone tissue within the callus, a reduced trabecular thickness and a higher amount of fibrous tissue. Furthermore, the number of osteoclasts in pantoprazole-treated animals was significantly increased at 2 weeks and decreased at 5 weeks after fracture, indicating an acceleration of bone turnover. Western blot analysis showed a lower expression of the bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4), whereas the expression of the pro-angiogenic parameters was higher when compared to controls. Thus, pantoprazole impairs fracture healing in aged mice by affecting angiogenic and osteogenic growth factor expression, osteoclast activity and bone formation

A time-resolved proteomic and prognostic map of COVID-19

COVID-19 is highly variable in its clinical presentation, ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe organ damage and death. We characterized the time-dependent progression of the disease in 139 COVID-19 inpatients by measuring 86 accredited diagnostic parameters, such as blood cell counts and enzyme activities, as well as untargeted plasma proteomes at 687 sampling points. We report an initial spike in a systemic inflammatory response, which is gradually alleviated and followed by a protein signature indicative of tissue repair, metabolic reconstitution, and immunomodulation. We identify prognostic marker signatures for devising risk-adapted treatment strategies and use machine learning to classify therapeutic needs. We show that the machine learning models based on the proteome are transferable to an independent cohort. Our study presents a map linking routinely used clinical diagnostic parameters to plasma proteomes and their dynamics in an infectious disease

Clinical and virological characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in a German tertiary care centre during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: a prospective observational study

Purpose: Adequate patient allocation is pivotal for optimal resource management in strained healthcare systems, and requires detailed knowledge of clinical and virological disease trajectories. The purpose of this work was to identify risk factors associated with need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), to analyse viral kinetics in patients with and without IMV and to provide a comprehensive description of clinical course. Methods: A cohort of 168 hospitalised adult COVID-19 patients enrolled in a prospective observational study at a large European tertiary care centre was analysed. Results: Forty-four per cent (71/161) of patients required invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Shorter duration of symptoms before admission (aOR 1.22 per day less, 95% CI 1.10-1.37, p < 0.01) and history of hypertension (aOR 5.55, 95% CI 2.00-16.82, p < 0.01) were associated with need for IMV. Patients on IMV had higher maximal concentrations, slower decline rates, and longer shedding of SARS-CoV-2 than non-IMV patients (33 days, IQR 26-46.75, vs 18 days, IQR 16-46.75, respectively, p < 0.01). Median duration of hospitalisation was 9 days (IQR 6-15.5) for non-IMV and 49.5 days (IQR 36.8-82.5) for IMV patients. Conclusions: Our results indicate a short duration of symptoms before admission as a risk factor for severe disease that merits further investigation and different viral load kinetics in severely affected patients. Median duration of hospitalisation of IMV patients was longer than described for acute respiratory distress syndrome unrelated to COVID-19

Corona solidarity

Published on 7 May 2020Survey data collected by @YouGov in April 2020 indicate that, during #covid19, Europeans are favourable to policies that support solidarity across the Union. The analysis by political scientists Björn Bremer and Philipp Genschel