Market Structure, Scale Efficiency, and Risk as Determinants of German Banking Profitability

The Scale-Efficiency version of the Efficient-Structure Hypothesis and the Structure-Conduct-Performance Hypothesis find empirical support in German banking data from 1998 to 2002. Due to the acceptance of the two hypotheses and the existence of overall economies of scale, we conclude that German banks may improve their profitability by increasing their asset size and/or by consolidation. The increased banking profitability will not only come from monopolistic power (higher concentration rate) but also from the scale efficiency benefit. We also find that portfolio risk is a key factor in determining the profit-structure relationship. --Profit-structure relationship,Market Structure,Scale efficiency,Portfolio Risk

Successful Project Management: The Implementation of Strategy in Local Government

This paper focuses on the successful implementation of strategic management at Ealing Council which manages the London Borough of Ealing. In particular, we have researched how this is achieved within the Social Services Department. Various change programme initiatives (projects) have taken place in the Department over the past few years by different leaders with varying levels of success. We will discuss some of these projects, but will focus on one particular project which began in November 2004 in response to a crisis situation within the Department. This paper builds develops the literature on strategic management in local authorities and project management

Market structure, scale efficiency, and risk as determinants of German banking profitability

The Scale-Efficiency version of the Efficient-Structure Hypothesis and the Structure-Conduct-Performance Hypothesis find empirical support in German banking data from 1998 to 2002. Due to the acceptance of the two hypotheses and the existence of overall economies of scale, we conclude that German banks may improve their profitability by increasing their asset size and/or by consolidation. The increased banking profitability will not only come from monopolistic power (higher concentration rate) but also from the scale efficiency benefit. We also find that portfolio risk is a key factor in determining the profit-structure relationship

Association of Lean Body Mass Index and Peritoneal Protein Clearance in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

Background/Aims: The relationship between peritoneal protein clearance (PPCl) and nutritional status in peritoneal dialysis (PD) population have not been clarified. This study aims to investigate the relationship between PPCl and nutritional status in PD population. Methods: Prevalent PD patients were enrolled in the cross-sectional survey in a single center from April to November 2013. The total amount of protein loss in the dialysate was calculated. PPCl reflects the individual differences of peritoneal protein loss, and is calculated by the formula, that PPCl (ml/day)=24-h dialysate protein loss / (albumin/0.4783). Nutritional status measured by lean body mass index (LBMI) was assessed by multi-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Results: Totally 351 PD patients (55% male, 17.1% with diabetes, mean age 47.7±14.3 years) were included. The median PPC l was 58 ml/day. Patients were divided into four groups for comparison according to the PPC quartiles. Compared with lower PPCl quartiles, patients with higher PPCl had higher body mass index (BMI) (P< 0.001), body surface area (BSA) (P < 0 .001), LBMI (P<0.001), 4-hour D/P creatinine ratio (P< 0.001), and lower residual renal CCl (P<0.001). Compared with conventional body index (BMI and BSA) in ROC analysis, LBMI (area under curve: 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.66-0.77) had better performance in predicting higher PPCl. After adjustment in logistic regression models, each 1 kg/m2 increase of LBMI (odd ratio[OR] =1.37; 95% CI: 1.17-1.60), each 0.1 increase of 4-hour D/P creatinine ratio (OR =1.47; 95% CI: 1.11-1.93), and every 1 L/week/1.73m2 decrease of residual renal CCl (OR =0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99) were independently associated with higher PPCl (> 58 ml/day). Conclusion: Higher LBMI was independently associated with higher , indicating that better nutritional status dominates peritoneal protein metabolism in PD patients

Radiomic signature of the FOWARC trial predicts pathological response to neoadjuvant treatment in rectal cancer

Background We aimed to develop a radiomic model based on pre-treatment computed tomography (CT) to predict the pathological complete response (pCR) in patients with rectal cancer after neoadjuvant treatment and tried to integrate our model with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomic signature. Methods This was a secondary analysis of the FOWARC randomized controlled trial. Radiomic features were extracted from pre-treatment portal venous-phase contrast-enhanced CT images of 177 patients with rectal cancer. Patients were randomly allocated to the primary and validation cohort. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression was applied to select predictive features to build a radiomic signature for pCR prediction (rad-score). This CT-based rad-score was integrated with clinicopathological variables using gradient boosting machine (GBM) or MRI-based rad-score to construct comprehensive models for pCR prediction. The performance of CT-based model was evaluated and compared by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The LR (likelihood ratio) test and AIC (Akaike information criterion) were applied to compare CT-based rad-score, MRI-based rad-score and the combined rad-score. Results We developed a CT-based rad-score for pCR prediction and a gradient boosting machine (GBM) model was built after clinicopathological variables were incorporated, with improved AUCs of 0.997 [95% CI 0.990–1.000] and 0.822 [95% CI 0.649–0.995] in the primary and validation cohort, respectively. Moreover, we constructed a combined model of CT- and MRI-based radiomic signatures that achieve better AIC (75.49 vs. 81.34 vs.82.39) than CT-based rad-score (P = 0.005) and MRI-based rad-score (P = 0.003) alone did. Conclusions The CT-based radiomic models we constructed may provide a useful and reliable tool to predict pCR after neoadjuvant treatment, identify patients that are appropriate for a 'watch and wait' approach, and thus avoid overtreatment. Moreover, the CT-based radiomic signature may add predictive value to the MRI-based models for clinical decision making

Risk Factors For Recurrent Stroke After Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objectives</p> <p>Preventing stroke after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) remains a therapeutic goal, due in part to the lack of identifiable risk factors. The aim of this study, accordingly, was to identify risk factors in CABG patients with a previous history of stroke.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients with a history of stroke who underwent CABG at Beijing An Zhen hospital from January 2007 to July 2010 were selected (n = 430), and divided into two groups according to the occurrence of postoperative stroke. Pre-operative and post-operative data were retrospectively collected and analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-two patients (7.4%) suffered post-operative stroke. Univariate analysis identified several statistically significant risk factors in the post-operative stroke group, including pre-surgical left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) ≤50%, on-pump surgery, post-operative atrial fibrillation (AF), and hypotension. Multivariable analysis identified 4 independent risk factors for recurrent stroke: unstable angina (odds ratio (OR) = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.05-8.28), LVEF ≤50% (OR = 2.77, 95% CI: 1.23-6.27), AF (OR = 4.69, 95% CI: 1.89-11.63), and hypotension (OR = 2.55, 95% CI: 1.07-6.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Unstable angina, LVEF ≤50%, post-operative AF, and post-operative hypotension are independent risk factors of recurrent stroke in CABG patients with a previous history of stroke.</p

Bank performance and executive pay: tournament or teamwork

We investigate the relationship between the dispersion of executive pay and bank performance/valuation by examining two competing theories, the tournament theory (hierarchical wage structure) and the equity fairness theory (compressed wage structure). The key variable of executive pay dispersion is measured using a hand-collected dataset composed of 63 banks from OECD countries and 29 banks from developing countries. The dataset covers the period 2004 to 2012. By combining and modifying a translog profit function and a pay-dispersion model, we are able to address the potential problems of relying on reduced-form estimation. In our subsample of developed and civil law countries, where bank performance is measured by either Tobin’s Q or by the price-to-book ratio, the overall impact of executive pay dispersion is mostly negative, and we find supporting evidence for the equity fairness theory, except for very high levels of dispersion. There is a non-linear effect, as banks perform best when there is either very low or very high executive pay dispersion. For developing country sample banks, greater executive pay dispersion has a negative impact on bank profit. In our subsample of common law countries, however, we find no evidence of a significant impact of executive pay dispersion on bank performance. We conclude that lower executive pay dispersion, a proxy for teamwork, is mostly effective in enhancing bank performance in a significant section of sample banks, i.e., civil law and developing countries

Creación y Simulación de Metodologías de Análisis, Clasificación e Integración de Nuevos Requerimientos a Software Propietario

La priorización de nuevos requerimientos a implementar en un software propietario es un punto fundamental para su mantenimiento, la conservación de la calidad, observación de las reglas de negocio y los estándares de la empresa. Aunque existen herramientas de priorización basadas en técnicas probadas y reconocidas, las mismas requieren una calificación previa de cada requerimiento. Si la empresa cuenta con solicitudes provenientes de varios clientes de un mismo producto, aumentan los factores que afectan a la empresa, las herramientas disponibles no contemplan estos aspectos y hacen mucho más compleja la tarea de calificación. Este trabajo de investigación abarca la realización de un relevamiento de los métodos de priorización y selección de nuevos requerimientos utilizados por empresas de la zona de Rosario, y la definición de una metodología para la selección un nuevo requerimiento, que implica el análisis y evaluación de todas las implicaciones sobre el producto de software y la empresa, respetando sus reglas de negocio. La metodología creada conduce a la definición de los procesos para la construcción de una herramienta de calificación y priorización de nuevos requerimientos en software propietario que tiene solicitudes de varios clientes al mismo tiempo, con instrumentos de calificación que consideran todos los aspectos relacionados, proveerá técnicas de priorización actuales y emitirá informes personalizados según diferentes perspectivas de la empresa.Eje: Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

The London Olympic Games 2012: A Case Study In Mega-Project Management

With so many government sponsored mega-project failures exposed in the press, this paper describes the ongoing project management of the largest construct project of its kind in the UK for over 150 years. The mega-project is twice as large as the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport, and has to be delivered in half the time it took for T5 to be built. Important issues are discussed that should ensure the London Olympic Games is ready on time, within budget and will deliver world class sporting facilities as expected by the 11,000 professional athletes, 1 million visitors expected and a television audience expected to exceed 4 billion viewers

2005, Market Structure, Scale Efficiency, and Risk as Determinants of German Banking

Abstract The Scale-Efficiency version of the Efficient-Structure Hypothesis and the StructuralConduct-Performance Hypothesis find empirical support in German banking data from 1998 to 2002. Due to the acceptance of the two hypotheses and the existence of overall economies of scale, we conclude that German banks may improve their profitability by increasing their asset size and/or by consolidation. The increased banking profitability will not only come from monopolistic power (higher concentration rate) but also from the scale efficiency benefit. We also find that portfolio risk is a key factor in determining the profit-structure relationship