Directors' compensation. What really matters?

In the current scenario of increasing social inequality, the debate over the compensation received by directors and executives of large listed companies, and its justification, has intensified. Drawing on Agency Theory and Human Capital Theory, a multilevel analytical technique is used in this paper to examine the influence of firm-level variables and director-level variables on the individual compensation of the members of the board. The results obtained for the continental European context (Spain in particular) partially support the Human Capital Theory. Nevertheless, there is no evidence supportive of Agency Theory, as corporate governance mechanisms do not contribute to moderate the compensation of directors and there is no relationship between corporate performance and the compensation of directors. The analyses by subsamples (categories of directors) reveal that non-executive director’s compensation seems to be set for a group of individuals as a whole, depending mainly on firm-level characteristics, whereas executive director compensation is more based on the unique characteristics that a particular executive brings to the board

Institutional context as a moderator of the relationship between board structure and acquirer returns

El objetivo de este trabajo es contribuir a la comprensión de la función de supervisión de la junta directiva en el contexto de las fusiones y adquisiciones (M&A). Centramos nuestro estudio en el caso europeo, para el que no existe evidencia previa exhaustiva sobre este tema. Utilizando información sobre 985 fusiones y adquisiciones llevadas a cabo durante el período 2003-2016 por empresas en los principales países europeos, analizamos la influencia de la capacidad de supervisión del directorio (pequeño tamaño, mayor proporción de personas ajenas y posiciones separadas de presidente y director ejecutivo) en el adquirente. retornos, diferenciando entre contextos anglosajones y europeos continentales. Nuestros resultados confirman que la efectividad del gobierno corporativoprácticas depende en gran medida de su adecuación al contexto institucional más amplio. Específicamente, encontramos que un tamaño más pequeño de la junta directiva y la separación de los cargos de presidente y director ejecutivo conducen a mayores retornos de adquisición en los países anglosajones europeos. Por el contrario, no encontramos evidencia de que cualquier proxy de la capacidad de supervisión del directorio mejore significativamente los retornos de los adquirentes en el resto de países. The objective of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the supervisory role of the board of directors in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We focus our study on the European case, for which there is no previous exhaustive evidence on this topic. Using information on 985 mergers and acquisitions carried out over the period 2003–2016 by companies in the major European countries, we analyze the influence of supervisory capacity of the board (small size, higher proportion of outsiders and separated Chairperson-CEO positions) on acquirer returns, differentiating between Anglo-Saxon and continental European contexts. Our results confirm that the effectiveness of corporate governance practices depends strongly on their fit with the broader institutional context. Specifically, we find that a smaller size of the board of directors and the separation of the positions of Chairperson and CEO lead to higher acquirer returns in European Anglo-Saxon countries. By contrast, we do not find evidence that any proxy of super-visory capacity of the board significantly improves acquirer returns in the rest of countries

Diagnóstico de Strongyloides stercoralis en un hospital de tercer nivel: Retos y mejoras

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 10-10-2019Esta tesis tiene embargado el acceso al texto completo hasta el 10-04-2021La estrongiloidiasis, infección causada por el nematodo intestinal Strongyloides stercoralis, sigue siendo una gran desconocida tanto en áreas endémicas como en nuestro medio, debido a que la mayoría de los casos son asintomáticos y a las propias limitaciones en el diagnóstico de laboratorio. A pesar de tratarse de una enfermedad tropical, el aumento del número de viajeros y de los movimientos poblacionales, asociados a la inmigración y a los refugiados, ha hecho que cada vez sean más comunes los casos importados. El screening y tratamiento de los pacientes con infección por S. stercoralis es indispensable debido a la posibilidad de desarrollar cuadros graves en caso de inmunosupresión. Por ello, el objetivo de este estudio fue conocer la situación de la infección en el Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, tanto desde el punto de vista clínicoepidemiológico como desde la perspectiva del laboratorio de Microbiología. De esta forma, se evaluaron las carencias y posibles mejoras en el diagnóstico parasitológico y serológico, así como la introducción de técnicas moleculares en la rutina asistencial. Se detectó un importante número de casos de estrongiloidiasis importada, principalmente en pacientes inmigrantes latinoamericanos. Algo menos de la mitad de los casos tuvo síntomas atribuibles a la estrongiloidiasis, siendo la eosinofilia la principal alteración analítica. La detección de larvas en heces se asoció a la clínica gastrointestinal, a la presencia de comorbilidades y a la eosinofilia. Los factores asociados a la inmunosupresión fueron el género masculino y la ausencia de síntomas y de eosinofilia. Los índex de la serología de S. stercoralis fueron mayores en pacientes con detección de larvas en heces y menores en pacientes inmunosuprimidos. El seguimiento de los casos fue muy heterogéneo, normalizándose los niveles de eosinófilos y los índex serológicos antes de los 6 meses post-diagnóstico en la mayoría de los pacientes tratados. Tras la implantación de la RT-PCR en heces, las recomendaciones sobre la recogida/conservación de las muestras y el cambio en el método de lavado de la técnica serológica, la proporción de casos con detección de larvas en heces aumentó hasta seis veces con respecto al inicio del estudio. La técnica serológica basada en antígeno recombinante no fue lo suficientemente sensible como para sustituir a la realizada de rutina, basada en antígeno crudo. En cuanto al cultivo en placa de agar, su rendimiento fue tres veces mayor que el de la visualización directa de las heces tras la concentración con el método formalina-éter, aunque el tiempo de incubación del cultivo no debería reducirse a menos de una semana. En conclusión, se describe una importante cohorte de pacientes con infección por S. stercoralis, así como una mejora en el diagnóstico de laboratorio. Es necesaria la aplicación de protocolos tanto de screening del inmigrante asintomático como de seguimiento de los casos de estrongiloidiasis.Strongyloidiasis, caused by the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis, remains an underdiagnosed infection both in endemic and in non-endemic countries because most of the cases are asymptomatic and due to the limitations in laboratory diagnosis. Although it is a tropical disease, imported cases have become more and more common, due to the increasing number of travellers, as well as population movements associated with immigration and refugees. The screening and treatment of patients with S. stercoralis infection is essential because of the potential of developing severe symptoms in immunosuppressed patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to know the situation of the infection in the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, both from the clinical-epidemiological point of view and from the perspective of the Microbiology laboratory. In this way, the limitations and possible improvements in parasitological and serological diagnosis were evaluated, as well as the introduction of molecular techniques in the routine laboratory testing A significant number of cases of imported strongyloidiasis were detected, mainly in immigrant Latin American patients. Less than half of the patients had symptoms related to S. stercoralis, being the eosinophilia the main analytical alteration. The detection of larvae in faeces was associated to gastrointestinal symptoms, comorbidities and eosinophilia. Immunosuppression was associated with being male, the absence of symptoms and the absence of eosinophilia. Serological indexes were higher in those with larvae detection in stool and lower in immunosuppressed patients. Patient follow-up was very heterogeneous. In most of the treated patients, eosinophil levels and serological indexes decreased within the 6 months post-diagnosis. After the implementation of the faecal RT-PCR, as well as the recommendations regarding the collection and conservation of stool samples and the change in the washing method of the serological technique, the proportion of cases with detection of larvae in stool increased up to six times compared to the beginning of the study. The serological technique based on recombinant antigen was not sensitive enough to replace the one based on crude antigen; which is the routine technique used in our laboratory. The detection rate of agar-plate culture was three times higher than the detection rate of direct visualization of the stool after formalin-ether concentration, although the incubation of the agar-plate culture should not be less than one week. In conclusion, in this study, an important cohort of patients with S. stercoralis infection is described, as well as an improvement in the laboratory diagnosis. There is an urgent need to apply screening protocols in asymptomatic immigrants and monitoring cases of strongyloidiasis

Aproximación a la traducción castellana del "De regimine principum" de Gil de Roma: estado de la cuestión y análisis de las versiones

Producción CientíficaLuego de una descripción general de la obra de Egidio Romano, se detallan los estudios realizados sobre la tradición textual de la traducción castellana, desde Pérez Bayer y Amador de los Ríos hasta Faulhaber, Rodríguez Velasco y Taylor. La collatio externa y el análisis del contenido de los 23 testimonios permiten discriminar tres grupos diferenciados en su contenido y su estructura. Estos grupos corresponden a distintas versiones del texto, la primera (serie A) presenta la traducción castellana y la glosa; la segunda (serie B) selecciona, amplifica o elimina el texto egidiano y mantiene, reelabora o amplía la glosa; la serie C no es en rigor una versión, sino una reelaboración de los testimonios de la serie B. Los mss. de la serie A son los únicos que pueden considerarse testimonios de la traducción castellana del De regimine principumde Gil de Roma.Este articulo se inscribe dentro de los proyectos de investigación VA5l/98 y VA005/O1 subvencionados por la Junta de Castilla y León

IX Congreso Internacional de la Asociación Hispánica de Literatura Medieval

Producción CientíficaLa versión de la traducción castellana del "De regimine principum" de Gil de Roma nos ha llegado en 23 testimonios, 22 manuscritos y uno impreso. Una primera "collatio" externa nos ha permitido establecer cuatro grupos que hemos designado.Este trabajo se enmarca dentro de los proyectos de investigación subvencionados por la Junta de Castilla y León: VA51/98 y VA005/01

Aproximación a la traducción castellana del De regimine principum de Gil de Roma: estado de la cuestión y análisis de las versiones

Luego de una descripción general de la obra de Egidio Romano, se detallan los estudios realizados sobre la tradición textual de la traducción castellana, desde Pérez Bayer y Amador de los Ríos hasta Faulhaber, Rodríguez Velasco y Taylor. La collatio externa y el análisis del contenido de los 23 testimonios permiten discriminar tres grupos diferenciados en su contenido y su estructura. Estos grupos corresponden a distintas versiones del texto, la primera (serie A) presenta la traducción castellana y la glosa; la segunda (serie B) selecciona, amplifica o elimina el texto egidiano y mantiene, reelabora o amplía la glosa; la serie C no es en rigor una versión, sino una reelaboración de los testimonios de la serie B. Los mss. de la serie A son los únicos que pueden considerarse testimonios de la traducción castellana del De regimine principumde Gil de Roma

Prevalence of submicroscopic malaria infection in immigrants living in Spain

BACKGROUND: The importance of submicroscopic malaria infections in high-transmission areas could contribute to maintain the parasite cycle. Regarding non-endemic areas, its importance remains barely understood because parasitaemia in these afebrile patients is usually below the detection limits for microscopy, hence molecular techniques are often needed for its diagnosis. In addition to this, the lack of standardized protocols for the screening of submicroscopic malaria in immigrants from endemic areas may underestimate the infection with Plasmodium spp. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of submicroscopic malaria in afebrile immigrants living in a non-endemic area. METHODS: A prospective, observational, multicentre study was conducted. Afebrile immigrants were included, microscopic observation of Giemsa-stained thin and thick blood smears, and two different molecular techniques detecting Plasmodium spp. were performed. Patients with submicroscopic malaria were defined as patients with negative blood smears and detection of DNA of Plasmodium spp. with one or both molecular techniques. Demographic, clinical, analytical and microbiological features were recorded and univariate analysis by subgroups was carried out with STATA v15. RESULTS: A total of 244 afebrile immigrants were included in the study. Of them, 14 had a submicroscopic malaria infection, yielding a prevalence of 5.7% (95% confidence interval 3.45-9.40). In 71.4% of the positive PCR/negative microscopy cases, Plasmodium falciparum alone was the main detected species (10 out of the 14 patients) and in 4 cases (28.6%) Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium ovale were detected. One patient had a mixed infection including three different species. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of submicroscopic malaria in afebrile immigrants was similar to that previously described in Spain. Plasmodium vivax and P. ovale were detected in almost a third of the submicroscopic infections. Screening protocols for afebrile immigrants with molecular techniques could be useful for a proper management of these patients.This work was funded by projects PI14/01671, PI17/01791 and PI14CIII/00014, from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness) and cofounded by the European Regional Development Fund, and approved by the Ethics Committee of our Institution. There was no funding from the PCR manufacturers; they did not play any role in data analysis or in the reporting of the results.S

Using Interpretable Machine Learning to Identify Baseline Predictive Factors of Remission and Drug Durability in Crohn’s Disease Patients on Ustekinumab

Ustekinumab has shown efficacy in Crohn's Disease (CD) patients. To identify patient profiles of those who benefit the most from this treatment would help to position this drug in the therapeutic paradigm of CD and generate hypotheses for future trials. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether baseline patient characteristics are predictive of remission and the drug durability of ustekinumab, and whether its positioning with respect to prior use of biologics has a significant effect after correcting for disease severity and phenotype at baseline using interpretable machine learning. Patients' data from SUSTAIN, a retrospective multicenter single-arm cohort study, were used. Disease phenotype, baseline laboratory data, and prior treatment characteristics were documented. Clinical remission was defined as the Harvey Bradshaw Index <= 4 and was tracked longitudinally. Drug durability was defined as the time until a patient discontinued treatment. A total of 439 participants from 60 centers were included and a total of 20 baseline covariates considered. Less exposure to previous biologics had a positive effect on remission, even after controlling for baseline disease severity using a non-linear, additive, multivariable model. Additionally, age, body mass index, and fecal calprotectin at baseline were found to be statistically significant as independent negative risk factors for both remission and drug survival, with further risk factors identified for remission

Long-Term Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Ustekinumab in Crohn’s Disease Patients: The SUSTAIN Study

Background Large real-world-evidence studies are required to confirm the durability of response, effectiveness, and safety of ustekinumab in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients in real-world clinical practice. Methods A retrospective, multicentre study was conducted in Spain in patients with active CD who had received ≥1 intravenous dose of ustekinumab for ≥6 months. Primary outcome was ustekinumab retention rate; secondary outcomes were to identify predictive factors for drug retention, short-term remission (week 16), loss of response and predictive factors for short-term efficacy and loss of response, and ustekinumab safety. Results A total of 463 patients were included. Mean baseline Harvey-Bradshaw Index was 8.4. A total of 447 (96.5%) patients had received prior biologic therapy, 141 (30.5%) of whom had received ≥3 agents. In addition, 35.2% received concomitant immunosuppressants, and 47.1% had ≥1 abdominal surgery. At week 16, 56% had remission, 70% had response, and 26.1% required dose escalation or intensification; of these, 24.8% did not subsequently reduce dose. After a median follow-up of 15 months, 356 (77%) patients continued treatment. The incidence rate of ustekinumab discontinuation was 18% per patient-year of follow-up. Previous intestinal surgery and concomitant steroid treatment were associated with higher risk of ustekinumab discontinuation, while a maintenance schedule every 12 weeks had a lower risk; neither concomitant immunosuppressants nor the number of previous biologics were associated with ustekinumab discontinuation risk. Fifty adverse events were reported in 39 (8.4%) patients; 4 of them were severe (2 infections, 1 malignancy, and 1 fever). Conclusions Ustekinumab is effective and safe as short- and long-term treatment in a refractory cohort of CD patients in real-world clinical practice