Are family firms good employers?

Family firms employ about 60 percent of the global workforce. While it is widely assumed that they are good employers, data about their conduct is mixed. In this study, we extend stewardship and agency theories to test competing propositions about the impact of family on employment practices using data from 14,961 private Belgian firms over a 19-year period. Higher investments, lower dividend payout, and higher risk tolerance indicate that family firms are better financial stewards of their companies than nonfamily firms. However, family firms are worse organizational stewards than nonfamily firms: They offer lower compensation, invest less in employee training, and exhibit higher voluntary turnover and lower labor productivity. Further, and contrary to earlier research, we find that financial practices in private family firms do not change over time, and that the deleterious influence of family on employment practices rises with both firm age and with heightened family involvement. Together, our findings suggest that a more nuanced understanding of stewardship and agency theory is needed to understand the impact of family on the governance of private firms

Data journalism, millennials & social networks: what does data journalism mean for journalists? - and how it can a ffect the millennials?

Dissertação apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação, ramo de JornalismoData is a term that is currently making massive waves amongst media and news media. With stories like the Iraq War Logs, it made its way onto the journalistic stage. Due to that, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the characteristics of data journalism and its effects on journalism. Therefore, the related project is designed to make use of current models in order to find out what it takes through practical use. Furthermore, the conducted case study aims to determine the usage and acceptance by the audience of the social network Twitter and in particular the Millennials. The subject of the study was the produced visual data outcome and the feedback given by citizens and especially consumers/ users of Twitter. The data for the study was gathered through a quantitative image type analysis and the record of retweets and favorites. These data support the view that data journalism with its visual results appeal to the audience and the characteristics of the Millennials. Additionally, it was concluded that the basic attitude of journalists will not change but the tools and skills need to be implemented in the newsroom and the work process of the storytelling journalist that, as a result, will promote watchdog and citizen journalism

Towards a Mode of Action for the Anti-Schistosomal Aryl Hydantoins

Schistosomiasis is a significant human disease caused by the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni. Praziquantel remains the only clinically used treatment, yet it is rapidly metabolized and only effective against the adult stage worm infection. Ro 13-3978 (AR02) is a potent antischistosomal compound with activity against multiple S. mansoni life stages; however, it manifests anti-androgenic activity. Additionally, the mechanism of action for worm clearance remains unknown. The structure of Ro 13-3979 was used to generate optimized derivatives, including AR102, that show increased potency towards worms, reduced off-target anti-androgen effects, and extended half-life thereby increasing the feasibility for a single-dose curative treatment. Animal knockout experiments and worm ex vivo assays suggest AR102 and analogs may be host-modulating with no direct lethal activity against worms. In this work, innate immune cells are identified as participating in worm clearance. With scRNA sequencing, we identify transcriptional changes in AR102-treated enriched splenocytes that include hallmarks of neutrophilic differentiation indicating a neutrophil or leukocyte mobilization phenotype may be present. Moreover, flow cytometry analysis of mouse blood neutrophils similarly detect population changes, including increased CD63+ neutrophils. Further, a neutrophil elastase-specific inhibitor (BAY85) significantly reverses AR02-mediated WBR in vivo, suggesting neutrophils are necessary for aryl hydantoin-mediated worm burden reduction. Additionally, expanded studies on adults Schistosoma mansoni identify a consistent transcriptional phenotype with the aryl hydantoins but with low magnitude of transcriptional changes relative to praziquantel and mefloquine controls. Moreover, an ex vivo study noted that aryl hydantoins reduce worm viability with the addition of diluted whole blood. Overall, these findings suggest the mode of action may include effects on both the host and worms, similar to praziquantel. However, the identification of a molecular target will likely be necessary to identify the target(s) of the antischistosomal aryl hydantoins

Real-time determination of laser beam quality by modal decomposition

We present a real-time method to determine the beam propagation ratio M2 of laser beams. The all-optical measurement of modal amplitudes yields M2 parameters conform to the ISO standard method. The experimental technique is simple and fast, which allows to investigate laser beams under conditions inaccessible to other methods.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, published in Optics Expres

Primary stability of cementless threaded acetabular cups at first implantation and in the case of revision regarding micromotions as indicators

The primary stability of cementless total hip endoprosthesis is of vital importance for proximate, long-term osteointegration. The extent of micromotions between implant and acetabulum is an indicator of primary stability. Based on this hypothesis, different cementless hip joint endoprosthesis were studied with regard to their micromotions. The primary stability of nine different cementless threaded acetabular cups was studied in an experimental setup with blocks of rigid foam. The micromotions between implant and implant bearing were therefore evaluated under cyclic, sinusoidal exposure. The blocks of polymer foam were prepared according to the Paprosky defect classifications. The micromotions increased with the increasing degree of the defect with all acetabuli tested. Occasionally coefficients of over 200 mu m were measured. From a defect degree of 3b according to Paprosky, the implants could no longer be appropriately placed. The exterior form of the spherical implants tended to exhibit better coefficients than the conical/parabolic implants

Bioactive SrO-SiO2 glass with well-ordered mesopores: Characterization, physiochemistry and biological properties

For a biomaterial to be considered suitable for bone repair it should ideally be both bioactive and have a capacity for controllable drug delivery; as such, mesoporous SiO2 glass has been proposed as a new class of bone regeneration material by virtue of its high drug-loading ability and generally good biocompatibility. It does, however, have less than optimum bioactivity and controllable drug delivery properties. In this study, we incorporated strontium (Sr) into mesoporous SiO2 in an effort to develop a bioactive mesoporous SrO–SiO2 (Sr–Si) glass with the capacity to deliver Sr2+ ions, as well as a drug, at a controlled rate, thereby producing a material better suited for bone repair. The effects of Sr2+ on the structure, physiochemistry, drug delivery and biological properties of mesoporous Sr–Si glass were investigated. The prepared mesoporous Sr–Si glass was found to have an excellent release profile of bioactive Sr2+ ions and dexamethasone, and the incorporation of Sr2+ improved structural properties, such as mesopore size, pore volume and specific surface area, as well as rate of dissolution and protein adsorption. The mesoporous Sr–Si glass had no cytotoxic effects and its release of Sr2+ and SiO44− ions enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity – a marker of osteogenic cell differentiation – in human bone mesenchymal stem cells. Mesoporous Sr–Si glasses can be prepared to porous scaffolds which show a more sustained drug release. This study suggests that incorporating Sr2+ into mesoporous SiO2 glass produces a material with a more optimal drug delivery profile coupled with improved bioactivity, making it an excellent material for bone repair applications. Keywords: Mesoporous Sr–Si glass; Drug delivery; Bioactivity; Bone repair; Scaffold

Emulation of grid-forming inverters using real-time PC and 4-quadrant voltage amplifier = Emulation netzbildender Wechselrichter mittels Echtzeit-PC und 4-Quadranten-Spannungsverstärker

Vorgestellt wird ein Versuchsstand zur Evaluierung neuartiger Regelungsverfahren für Wechselrichter zur regenerativen Stromerzeugung. Das Verhalten von netzgeführter und netzbildender Regelung wird in einem Testszenario untersucht und verglichen. Unter Verwendung einer echtzeitfähigen Regelungsplattform mit einer Zykluszeit von 50 μs können mit Matlab/Simulink entwickelte Regelungsverfahren implementiert werden. Der Einfachheit halber wird anstelle eines Wechselrichters ein dreiphasiger 4-Quadranten-Spannungsverstärker verwendet. Somit kann auf den Einsatz von Modulation und geschalteten Leistungshalbleitern verzichtet werden. Um ein realistisches Verhalten eines netzseitigen Filters zu zeigen, können passive Komponenten automatisiert als L-, LC- oder LCL-Filter zugeschaltet werden. Der Versuchsstand hat eine Nennwirkleistung von 43,6 kW und eine Nennspannung von 400 V. Als modernes netzfolgendes Regelverfahren ist im Versuchsstand eine Stromregelung im d/q-System implementiert. Als netzbildendes Regelverfahren wird eine virtuelle Synchronmaschine, der Synchronverter, eingesetzt. In Kombination mit einer frequenzvariablen Netznachbildung wird das Verhalten beider Regelverfahren im Falle einer Lastzuschaltung in einer Inselnetzumgebung untersucht