Corporate information transparency on the Internet by listed companies in Spain (IBEX35) and Mexico (IPYC)

Financial and non-financial disclosure play a central role in the functioning of capital markets. In this context, the Internet has been adopted as an effective mechanism for large companies to disseminate corporate information. The institutional theory approach has been applied to identify both formal (fundamentally legal and economic) and informal factors that significantly influence listed companies’ level of corporate transparency on the Internet. Our work aims to build on existing study by focusing on two main objectives. Firstly, to make a comparative study of the corporate transparency of listed companies from Mexico and Spain by creating an index of corporate transparency on the Internet (e-CTI). And secondly, to identify the factors that affect this index using multiple regression analysis. Our study population is comprised of 70 companies, of which 35 belong to the Mexican Price and Quotations Index (IPyC) and 35 to the Spanish IBEX 35 index. The descriptive analysis reveals significant differences in the level of information disclosure between the two countries. The companies listed in Mexico obtain an e-CTI of 59%, while the Spanish ones register 80%, i.e. more importance is assigned to the disclosure of corporate governance data in Spain than in Mexico. Furthermore, this analysis shows that the factors most telling with regards to corporate transparency are the strength and application of law, GDP per capita, inflation and firm-level variables such as ownership concentration and Chairman of the Board-Chief Executive Officer (COB-CEO) duality. However, other variables such as board size and composition, profitability, leverage and firm size are not significant for the purposes of this analysis. Our work is of great relevance today, since most studies have focused on developed countries, mainly in the U.S. and Europe, with few comparisons being made between developed and developing countries, such as Spain and Mexico

Performance and abilities of family-member ceos in a context of formal institutional weakness

Antecedentes: desde la perspectiva de la teoría institucional, este artículo estudia la relación entre las habilidades de los directores generales pertenecientes a la familia y el desempeño financiero de las empresas familiares listadas en un entorno caracterizado por la debilidad de las instituciones formales. Metodología: la muestra se compone de empresas familiares no financieras listadas en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores durante el periodo 2001-2014. El análisis econométrico utiliza modelos lineales para datos de panel estimados por mínimos cuadrados ordinarios (mco). Para tomar en cuenta la endogeneidad, las regresiones se corren con el método generalizado de momentos (mgm). Conclusiones: en un contexto de debilidad institucional, invertir en educación superior en el área de negocios —de alta calidad y proporcionada en el propio país— es una buena estrategia a largo plazo para empresas familiares que quieran promover a un director general de la familia.Background: From the perspective of institutional theory, this paper studies the relation between the abilities of family-member ceos and the financial performance of listed family companies, in a setting of formal institutional weakness. Methodology: The study sample is composed of non-financial family firms listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange during the 2001-2014 period. Econometric analysis is attained through linear models for panel data, estimated by ordinary least squares (ols). To take into account endogeneity concerns, regressions are run through the generalized method of moments (gmm). Conclusions: In a context of formal institutional weakness, investment in businessrelated higher education —of high quality, and in one’s own country— is a good long-term strategy for family businesses that wish to promote a family-member ce

First multi-target application of exclusion net in nectarine orchards: Effectiveness against pests and impact on beneficial arthropods, postharvest rots and fruit quality

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in the development of alternative pest control strategies to reduce environmental impact. In this contest, exclusion nets have been evaluated as a sustainable alternative to pesticides. In this study, the use of a photoselective exclusion net was investigated in semi-field conditions as a potential strategy to protect nectarine orchards from different pests (i.e., fruit moths, Halyomorpha halys and Drosophila suzukii) in NW Italy. The presence and abundance of pest populations inside and outside the net, as well as the damage they caused on fruits, were evaluated. Moreover, any possible effects of the net on beneficial arthropods, postharvest rots and fruit quality and nutraceutical parameters were considered. The exclusion net significantly reduced pest populations. At harvest, fruit damage caused by Grapholita molesta and H. halys in netted plots was reduced up to 90% and to 78%, respectively, compared with insecticide-treated plots. The exclusion net allowed the production of healthier fruits with a strong reduction of insecticide treatments (up to seven less) and of their related costs without any negative impact on postharvest rots, neither fruit quality nor nutraceutical properties

stress response system and personality in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Various factors such as immunogenetic determinants, sex, age and stress paly an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The relationship between stress and RA is still unclear and undefined; however, various lines of research are developing in order to evaluate environmental, psychologic, and biologic stressors as predisposing factors. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether stress-related psychologic factors and personality disorders might be involved in the development of RA, by using a psychometric investigation-methodology in a series of patients. Twenty-three patients underwent a clinical inteview and other specific psychometric tests. Macro and microstressful life-events preceded RA in 83% of the cases. Sixty percent of the patients showed a correlation between flare-ups of the disease and appearance of microevents. An obsessive-compulsive personality was found in 26% of the patients. Anxia was detected in 40% of the patients. Among the group of patients with borderline disorder's was also detected alexithymia. The high prevalence of major life-events preceding the onset of RA and the presence of personality disorders support the role of the altered stress response system as an importunat pathogenetic factor in the disease

Universidad y emprendimiento: un caso de estudio en la Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales de la UGR

Con el objetivo de fomentar una cultura emprendedora dentro del ámbito educativo, se desarrollaron prácticas en las cuales los estudiantes de la licenciatura en administración y dirección de empresas, debían realizar las distintas etapas del plan de empresa que el emprendedor tiene en cuenta en el momento de poner en marcha su negocio. En este trabajo, analizamos esta experiencia en emprendimiento, destacando el importante desafío que tienen las instituciones educativas en desarrollar programas, en los cuales, los estudiantes puedan contar con herramientas que les sirvan a la hora de emprender su propio negocio en un mercado laboral competitivo. Con el fin de contribuir al desarrollo económico y social del país. Observamos que antes de esta practica, la mayoría de los alumnos no habían tenido una experiencia de emprendimiento es su carrera universitaria. Además, al finalizar dicha práctica más de la mitad de los estudiantes desean continuar con su proyecto de empresa.Departamento de Psicología Socia

Universal law of fractionation for slightly polydisperse systems

By perturbing about a general monodisperse system, we provide a complete description of two-phase equilibria in any system which is slightly polydisperse in some property (e.g., particle size, charge, etc.). We derive a universal law of fractionation which is corroborated by comprehensive experiments on a model colloid-polymer mixture. We furthermore predict that phase separation is an effective method of reducing polydispersity only for systems with a skewed distribution of the polydisperse property

Graphene thermal infrared emitters integrated into silicon photonic waveguides

Cost-efficient and easily integrable broadband mid-infrared (mid-IR) sources would significantly enhance the application space of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Thermal incandescent sources are superior to other common mid-IR emitters based on semiconductor materials in terms of PIC compatibility, manufacturing costs, and bandwidth. Ideal thermal emitters would radiate directly into the desired modes of the PIC waveguides via near-field coupling and would be stable at very high temperatures. Graphene is a semi-metallic two-dimensional material with comparable emissivity to thin metallic thermal emitters. It allows maximum coupling into waveguides by placing it directly into their evanescent fields. Here, we demonstrate graphene mid-IR emitters integrated with photonic waveguides that couple directly into the fundamental mode of silicon waveguides designed for a wavelength of 4,2 {\mu}m relevant for CO${_2}$ sensing. High broadband emission intensity is observed at the waveguide-integrated graphene emitter. The emission at the output grating couplers confirms successful coupling into the waveguide mode. Thermal simulations predict emitter temperatures up to 1000{\deg}C, where the blackbody radiation covers the mid-IR region. A coupling efficiency {\eta}, defined as the light emitted into the waveguide divided by the total emission, of up to 68% is estimated, superior to data published for other waveguide-integrated emitters.Comment: 24 page

Reactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (HSV-1) Detected on Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid (BALF) Samples in Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Undergoing Invasive Mechanical Ventilation: Preliminary Results from Two Italian Centers

Reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) has been described in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. In the present two-center retrospective experience, we primarily aimed to assess the cumulative risk of HSV-1 reactivation detected on bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF) samples in invasively ventilated COVID-19 patients with worsening respiratory function. The secondary objectives were the identification of predictors for HSV-1 reactivation and the assessment of its possible prognostic impact. Overall, 41 patients met the study inclusion criteria, and 12/41 patients developed HSV-1 reactivation (29%). No independent predictors of HSV-1 reactivation were identified in the present study. No association was found between HSV-1 reactivation and mortality. Eleven out of 12 patients with HSV-1 reactivation received antiviral therapy with intravenous acyclovir. In conclusion, HSV-1 reactivation is frequently detected in intubated patients with COVID-19. An antiviral treatment in COVID-19 patients with HSV-1 reactivation and worsening respiratory function might be considered