Measuring Industry Concentration of Equity Investment Funds in the Republic of Croatia

The overall objective of this work is to investigate further development of the capital markets in the Republic of Croatia with a focus on industry concentration of equity investment funds with a public offering, and the changes that they have experienced since 2004 to date. Visage the Croatian capital market has changed in this period and therefore the aim is to measure investment capital concentration in the industry of equity investment funds. It is required to determine if in industry is perfect equality present or if the investment capital is directed only to a small number of large funds. Uncertainty, distrust, and a great level of risk are characteristics of the capital markets in development, such as Croatia. The aim is to determine whether the size of net assets of investment fund puts safety at the investor, and thus encourages investors to future investment in the fund, which generally speaking, increase the concentration of capital only in funds with a high value of net assets.Process of transition in the Republic of Croatia affected the development of capital markets and the emergence of new participants, namely an open investment fund. The foundations for longterm sustainable growth of the Croatian capital markets are currently still extremely unstable, and development of the market itself is tied to a sense of distrust and insecurity of its participants. It is necessary to investigate, in poorly developed capital market, if investors perceived greater safety of investments in large funds, which are the symptoms of a large concentration of capital in a small number of funds. We will also investigate whether the development of capital markets leads to a reduction of industrial concentration. Research and hypotheses are focused on the industry of equity investment funds with a public offering in the Republic of Croatia.Industry concentration, Equity funds, Open investment funds, Herfindahl-Hirschman index, Gini index

The Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation (PFNA) in the Treatment of Proximal Femoral Fractures

Proximal femoral fractures, especially in elderly persons with osteoporosis, present a challenge for the traumatologist. While the dynamic hip screw (DHS) became the implant of choice for the treatment of stable fractures, the ideal implant for the treatment of unstable fractures remains an issue. In our experience, Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation (PFNA) is an excellent device for osteosynthesis as it can be easily inserted, it provides angular and rotational stability and allows early weight bearing on the affected limb. Between February 2007 and August 2009, 76 patents underwent the PFNA fixation for proximal femoral fractures (15 men and 61 women). Forty seven fractures were pertrochanteric, 14 subtrochanteric, 2 pathological and 5 ipsilateral trochanteric and diaphyseal fractures whereas in 8 cases the PFNA was used in reosteosynthesis. The mean age of patients was 73.4 years (range 22–91 years). The fractures were reduced on a traction table and the implant was inserted using minimally invasive technique. Four patients developed superficial postoperative wound infection. No cases of implant breakage have been recorded; there was one cut-out; delayed union was noted in three patients. The majority of patients regained their pre-injury mobility status. The PFNA is an excellent implant for stabilisation of both trochanteric and complex combination fractures as well as an exceptional device for reosteosynthesis. It is easily inserted with few intra- and postoperative complications and allows early weight bearing on the affected limb as well as quicker rehabilitation of patients

Ultrasound in material diagnostics

Cílem semestrálního projektu je prostudovat fyzikální základy ultraakustiky a seznámit se s možnostmi využití ultrazvuku v diagnostice materiálů. Dále se seznámit s funkcemi a obsluhou ultrazvukového zařízení EPOCH LT od firmy OLYMPUS a provést měření tloušťek a rychlostí šíření ultrazvuku u vybraných materiálů.Objectives of the semestral project are to study the physical basis of ultra acoustic and comprehend the basics of ultrasound usage in diagnostic of materials. I should also become familiar with functions and usage of ultrasound device EPOCH LT made by OLYMPUS and perform measurement of thickness and speed of ultrasound spreading in selected materials.

Selection of Optimal Portfolio by Use of Risk Diversification Method

The paper will discuss how securities investors can protect themselves from risk through diversification. There will be proposals how investors should structure their portfolio, i.e. proposals of investment percentages for particular shares, in order to achieve stable solid returns at a low level of risk. The paper will analyze three types of stock: INA – Oil Industry Plc., IGH – Croatian Institute of Civil Engineering Plc. and Viro Sugar Factory Plc., which can be used to gain a better understanding of the investment business. We shall describe the basic tenets of modern portfolio theory so as to explicate some fundamental issues of securities investment and portfolio creation. The paper will provide an analysis of Markowitz’ theory as the origin of modern portfolio optimization theory, which in turn represents the starting point for securities investments.risk, diversification, Markowitz’ theory, decision making, securities analysis, programming.

Communication-related quality of life: Perspectives of people with aphasia and speech-language pathology students

Physiological and psychosocial communication components impact communication-related quality of life for people with aphasia. This study aimed to understand how these components were addressed in a university clinic speech-language pathology program. Mixed-methods with inductive coding of interviews and documentation data were used to develop a description of communication-related quality of life, including perspectives of people with aphasia and graduate student participants. Qualitative findings revealed three trends: therapy which aids the ability to communicate, connections with additional people with aphasia, and supportive environments emerged from people with aphasia data. Three trends emerged: communicating effectively, a naturalistic environment, and individualization were shown from the students’ data. Quantitative findings of 164 summary report documentation indicated physiological components were communicated more frequently than psychosocial. There were complimentary findings between qualitative and quantitative data sets. Findings indicated how communication-related quality of life were perceived by participants and represented in documentation, with implications to enhance clinical practice and documentation

The non-obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle by acetylcholine

The concept of Endothelium Derived Relaxing Factor (EDRF), put forward by Furchgott in the earlier 80s of the past century, implies that nitric oxide (NO) produced by NO synthase (NOS) in the endothelium in response to acetylcholine (ACh) passively diffuses to the underlying vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) thereby reducing vascular tension. It was thought that VSMC do not express NOS by themselves, but to the time of those studies immunohistochemical techniques were not what they are now. State-of-the-art immunohistochemistry permits nowadays to localize NOS both to the endothelium and to VSMC. However, the principal question remained unanswered, is the NO generation by VSMC physiologically relevant? We hypothesized that the destruction of the vascular wall anatomical integrity by rubbing the blood vessel intimal surface may increase vascular superoxides that, in turn, reduce NO bioactivity. To address this issue, we examined ACh-induced vasorelaxation in endothelium-deprived blood vessels under protection against oxidative stress and found that superoxide scavengers - tempol and N-acetyl-L-cysteine - restored vasodilatory responses to ACh in endothelium-deprived blood vessels without influencing the vascular wall tension in intact blood vessels. Herewith we provided the first evidence that VSMC can release NO in amounts sufficient to account for the vasorelaxatory response to ACh. In contrast to the commonly accepted concept of the obligatory role of endothelial cells in the relaxation of arterial smooth muscle, the local NO generation by VSMC can modulate vascular functions in an endothelium-independent manner