The significance of competencies in corporate competitiveness and in education

Human resources (hereinafter referred to as HR) have always been playing a decisive role in economic life. The company’s competitiveness, success and market position greatly depends on its human factor organising and running it from the background. Although competency-based HR practices are rather expensive, it is worth the price as the costs spent on recruitment can only be covered when the most suitable, the most competent applicant is hired. On the other hand, retraining, restructuring and stressing the role of competencies in Human Resources Management are also in the centre of attention and are becoming more and more “fashionable” today. In our opinion companies should invest more money to improve their human resources by means of trainings and education, because it pays off even if in the long run and finally results in comparative advantages. Besides, competencies can also contribute to the employment of young starters or graduates of higher education.competencies, job description, job specification, competency-based HR practices, job-related competency profile

Internet-based CSR communication of Hungary's top enterprises

Since the publication of the Bruntland Report (1987) the concept of sustainable development has been widely known, and increasingly becoming the core of all time media, political and scientific discussion. More and more say in connection with sustainable development that this goal can not be achieved without the approval of the business sphere or corporate social responsibility. In the first part of our essay we introduce the definition of CSR, and in the upcoming chapters we present the summary of CSR connected articles published in the inland and scientific periodicals. In our opinion the way and quantity a scientific topic is displayed in the written press is determining for the scientific sphere. Corporate social responsibility has gone through a great change in the last few years in Hungary. More and more related articles, books, conferences, trainings, tender opportunities are available that supports the fact that today this topic is actual and relevant in Hungary. Furthermore we provide a short summary about the articles in connection with communication, namely who has written what in this issue so far. Finally in the fourth chapter we present our empirical research, where the main research question is whether there is difference in the communication through the internet among the TOP 1-50, TOP 51-100 and TOP 101-200 companies.corporate social responsibility, sustainability, communication

Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio and serum albumin are predictors of acute kidney injury in non-ventilated COVID-19 patients: a single-center prospective cohort study

PURPOSE: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent complication among COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit, but it is less frequently investigated in general internal medicine wards. We aimed to examine the incidence, the predictors of AKI, and AKI-associated mortality in a prospective cohort of non-ventilated COVID-19 patients. We aimed to describe the natural history of AKI by describing trajectories of urinary markers of hemodynamic, glomerular, and tubular injury. METHODS: 141 COVID-19 patients were enrolled to the study. AKI was defined according to KDIGO guidelines. Urine and renal function parameters were followed twice a week. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the predictors of AKI and mortality. Trajectories of urinary markers were described by unadjusted linear mixed models. RESULTS: 19.7% patients developed AKI. According to multiple logistic regression, higher urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.04-2.12/1 mg/mmol) and lower serum albumin (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.94/1 g/L) were independent predictors of AKI. Mortality was 42.8% in the AKI and 8.8% in the group free from AKI (p < 0.0001). According to multiple logistic regression, older age, lower albumin, and AKI (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.24-12.21) remained independent predictors of mortality. Urinary protein-to-creatinine trajectories were diverging with decreasing values in those without incident AKI. CONCLUSION: We found high incidence of AKI and mortality among moderately severe, non-ventilated COVID-19 patients. Its development is predicted by higher albuminuria suggesting that the originally damaged renal structure may be more susceptible for virus-associated effects. No clear relationship was found with a prerenal mechanism, and the higher proteinuria during follow-up may point toward tubular damage

The impact of COVID-19 infection before the vaccination era on the hospitalized patients requiring hemodialysis: a single-center retrospective cohort

Due to effective vaccinations, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infection that caused the pandemic has a milder clinical course. We aimed to assess the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients before the vaccination era. We investigated the mortality in those patients between 1 October 2020 and 31 May 2021 who received hemodialysis treatment [patients with previously normal renal function (nCKD), patients with chronic kidney disease previously not requiring hemodialysis (CKDnonHD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and patients on regular hemodialysis (pHD)]. In addition, participants were followed up for all-cause mortality in the National Health Service database until 1 December 2021. In our center, 83 of 108 (76.9%) were included in the analysis due to missing covariates. Over a median of 26 (interquartile range 11-266) days of follow-up, 20 of 22 (90.9%) of nCKD, 23 of 24 (95.8%) of CKDnonHD, and 17 of 37 (45.9%) pHD patients died (p < 0.001). In general, patients with nCKD had fewer comorbidities but more severe presentations. In contrast, the patients with pHD had the least severe symptoms (p < 0.001). In a model adjusted for independent predictors of all-cause mortality (C-reactive protein and serum albumin), CKDnonHD patients had increased mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-3.60], while pHD patients had decreased mortality (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20-0.81) compared to nCKD patients. After further adjustment for the need for intensive care, the difference in mortality between the nCKD and pHD groups became non-significant. Despite the limitations of our study, it seems that the survival of previously hemodialysis patients was significantly better

Does risk sorting explain overpricing in experimental asset markets?

Sorting according to the gender or cognitive abilities of the traders has been investigated as a potential source of overpricing in asset markets. Here we study if sorting according to risk attitudes matters, motivated by the fact that filtering out risk-averse investors is practiced widely in Europe and is in line with the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) of the EU. Despite the central role of risk attitude in the literature, our study is the first that sorts participants into markets by risk tolerance and tests its effect on overpricing. We show that risk sorting can explain overpricing only partially: Markets with the most risk-tolerant traders exhibit larger overpricing than markets with the most risk-averse traders. In our study, risk aversion does not correlate with gender or cognitive abilities, bringing in an additional factor to understand overpricing

The impact of COVID-19 infection before the vaccination era on the hospitalized patients requiring hemodialysis: a single-center retrospective cohort

AbstractDue to effective vaccinations, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) infection that caused the pandemic has a milder clinical course. We aimed to assess the mortality of hospitalized COVID-19 patients before the vaccination era. We investigated the mortality in those patients between 1 October 2020 and 31 May 2021 who received hemodialysis treatment [patients with previously normal renal function (nCKD), patients with chronic kidney disease previously not requiring hemodialysis (CKDnonHD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and patients on regular hemodialysis (pHD)]. In addition, participants were followed up for all-cause mortality in the National Health Service database until 1 December 2021. In our center, 83 of 108 (76.9%) were included in the analysis due to missing covariates. Over a median of 26 (interquartile range 11–266) days of follow-up, 20 of 22 (90.9%) of nCKD, 23 of 24 (95.8%) of CKDnonHD, and 17 of 37 (45.9%) pHD patients died (p < 0.001). In general, patients with nCKD had fewer comorbidities but more severe presentations. In contrast, the patients with pHD had the least severe symptoms (p < 0.001). In a model adjusted for independent predictors of all-cause mortality (C-reactive protein and serum albumin), CKDnonHD patients had increased mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.91, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–3.60], while pHD patients had decreased mortality (HR 0.41, 95% CI 0.20–0.81) compared to nCKD patients. After further adjustment for the need for intensive care, the difference in mortality between the nCKD and pHD groups became non-significant. Despite the limitations of our study, it seems that the survival of previously hemodialysis patients was significantly better