The relationship between the profitability and the presence of director interlocks. An analysis from the theory of resources and capabilities

El tema del gobierno corporativo, y el estudio del consejo de administración, ha recibido una atención creciente tanto en los desarrollos de gestión como en la literatura de investigación. Esta tendencia ha quedado especialmente manifiesta en la proliferación de códigos de buen gobierno corporativo en muchos países en los cuales se presenta al consejo de administración como un órgano vital para asegurar un gobierno responsable de las empresas. Por su parte la literatura de gobierno corporativo ha prestado una atención preferente al análisis, desde una perspectiva de agencia, de la forma en que los consejeros pueden desarrollar un control más eficaz sobre la labor de los gestores de la empresa. Este trabajo plantea una contribución a la literatura previa analizando si la presencia de consejeros que están simultáneamente en consejos de varias organizaciones puede aportar capacidades a las organizaciones que conlleven una mejora de sus resultados financieros. Mientras que las implicaciones de las características y control de los consejeros de la organización han recibido una atención amplia en la literatura previa, el análisis de la influencia de la existencia de consejeros compartidos entre varias empresas ha recibido una atención limitada. Sin embargo la realidad empresarial ha incrementado exponencialmente el número y la importancia de estas figuras compartidas debido sobre todo al progresivo reforzamiento de las redes de participación entre grupos empresariales. El planteamiento teórico del trabajo se basa en una visión del consejo desde la perspectiva de los recursos y capacidades, línea teórica cuyo uso en el estudio del gobierno corporativo se ha ido incrementando en los últimos años pero que sigue estando poco desarrollada, pese a la influencia creciente de esta perspectiva en la literatura y los llamamientos para analizar los temas de gobierno desde esta perspectiva. Una visión del consejo desde esta perspectiva plantea la posibilidad de que los consejeros no sólo sean valiosos por su control de la labor directiva sino que sean en sí recursos para la empresa, más o menos valiosos en virtud de su propia competencia, conocimiento o experiencia. En este sentido, los consejeros compartidos podrían contar con una habilidad superior para, 1) incrementar la capacidad de la organización para procesar mayor volumen y variedad de información, 2) ayudar en la generación de alternativas estratégicas innovadoras y 3) aportar capacidades complementarias para tomar la mejor decisión dadas las alternativas y la información disponible. Para contrastar nuestro estudio se ha usado una muestra de 93 empresas eléctricas de Estados Unidos de las que se han obtenido datos para el año 2004. En este sector se han establecido recientemente por la Comisión Federal Reguladora de la Energía en Estados Unidos (FERC) nuevas reglas específicas en torno a los consejeros compartidos, mostrando la importancia que este fenómeno está adquiriendo en este específico sector. Los resultados obtenidos muestran una relación negativa entre la presencia de consejeros compartidos y la rentabilidad de la empresa. El artículo discute las implicaciones que estos resultados pueden tener para futuras investigaciones, gestores y entes reguladores.The topic of corporate governance and the study of boards of directors have received increasing attention in management and in research literature. This bias has particularly evident in the proliferation of good corporate governance codes in many countries. In these codes boards are presented as a vital organ to ensure responsible corporate governance. Meanwhile, the corporate governance literature has provided a focus for analysis, from an agency perspective, the manner in which directors can develop a more effective control over the work of managers of the company. This paper presents a contribution to the previous literature analyzing whether the presence of directors who are simultaneously on several boards of organizations can provide capabilities to organizations that involve improving their financial results. While the implications of the characteristics and control of the directors of the organization have received wide attention in the literature, the analysis of the influence of the existence of director interlocks between several businesses has received limited attention. However real business has increased exponentially the number and importance of these figures due to the progressive strengthening of networks of participation between groups. The paper is based on a vision of boards from the resources and capabilities perspective, a theoretical line whose weight in the study of corporate governance has been increasing in recent years, but that continues to be under-developed despite the growing influence of this perspective in the literature and calls to analyze the issues of corporate governance from this perspective. A vision of the board from this perspective supports the argument that directors are not only valuable due to their control over managers but that they are also resources for the company, more or less valuable for their own competence, knowledge or experience. In this regard, director interlocks can 1) assist in the identification of possible alternative decisions, 2) increase the ability of organizations to collect information on alternatives and 3) help to make the best decisions with alternatives and information available. To test our study we used a sample of 93 U.S. electric companies from which data was obtained for 2004. In this sector new rules on director interlocks have been recently established by the Federal Energy Regulatory U.S. (FERC), showing the importance that this phenomena is receiving in this particular sector. The results show a negative relationship between the presence of director interlocks and corporate profitability. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for future research, managers and government

On the dynamic behavior of the Zener model with nonlinear stiffness for harmonic vibration isolation

In this paper, the dynamic behaviour of a mechanical isolator known as the Zener model is considered. This model consists of a mass supported by a spring that is in parallel with two further elements in series; a damper and a second spring. Previous work had already demonstrated that this system has benefits for the transmissibility above the resonance frequency, when compared with the traditional spring-damper isolator. In this work we study the influence of replacing the main spring with a nonlinear cubic spring. In fact, we show that use of a cubic stiffness can provide improvement in the transmissibility for frequencies around and above the resonance if the stiffness is of the softening type. Results are based on the analytical development of the equation of motion using the harmonic balance method

Evaluation of growth performance, oxidative stress and immune response in gilthead sea bream fed with novel feed formulations

Trabajo presentado en Aquaculture Europe 2020, celebrado en modalidad virtual del 12 al 15 de abril de 2021.[Introduction]: As the aquaculture sector continues to expand while being more environmentally conscious, the development of sustainable aquafeeds is becoming increasingly important (FAO, 2020). Tolerance to the replacement of fishmeal and fish oil in feeds has been largely studied in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) (Gasco et al., 2018; Karapanagiotidis, Psofakis, Mente, Malandrakis, & Golomazou, 2019), and many products emerge now as potential alternatives to ingredients used in conventional formulations. A main goal of GAIN EU project is to evaluate emerging ingredients, already commercially available, using different formulation concepts that consider all fish nutritional requirements. GAIN diets are based on circularity principles, maximizing resource efficiency, while contributing towards zero waste in the agro-food value chain, feed cost-effectiveness, and having good social acceptance. The present study aims to understand the real impacts of these novel feed formulations on growth performance, nutritional condition, immunity, and oxidative status using biomarkers.[Methods]: Quadruplicate groups of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) were fed ad libitum with four different diets. Three of them have been designed to facilitate aquaculture eco-intensification through increased circularity and resource utilization: NOPAP - formula without terrestrial animal by-products processed animal protein; PAP - formula with terrestrial animal by-products processed animal protein; and MIX - a mixture of NOPAP and PAP. The fourth feed followed a standard commercial formulation and was used as a control diet. After a 77-day feeding trial, plasma samples were collected to evaluate humoral parameters (protease, anti-protease, bactericidal activity and IgM). Liver and head kidney tissues were collected for the simultaneous profiling of a panel of 42 (liver) or 29 (head kidney) genes, as markers of growth performance, lipid and energy metabolism, and immune and antioxidant activities by qPCR. Liver samples were also used to analyse oxidative biomarker (Lipid peroxidation and catalase).[Results]: Tested feed formulations did not affect growth performance or feed intake. However, fish fed PAP and MIX diets had a higher feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio than control and NOPAP groups. This impairment was accompanied by a decreased hepatic expression of igf-i and ghr1. NOPAP diet slightly increased innate immunity parameters, showing better results on bactericidal, IgM, and anti-protease activity, as well as a significant up-regulation of il-8 in head kidney. Fish fed with PAP diet displayed an up-regulation of pro-inflammatory genes, namely il-8 and other cytokines (il-1β, tnf-α), chemokines (ck8), and chemokine receptors (ccr3). The same pattern was found for the T-cell markers cd3x, cd4, and cd8a. The activity of the antioxidant enzyme catalase was significantly lower in fish fed with PAP and MIX diet, being a possible indication of decreased antioxidant defences. This is supported by the observed regulation of antioxidant genes (mn-sod/sod2, gpr-170, gpr-94, and gpr-75), although not statistically significant.[Discussion]: The similar performance of novel formulations and the control diet indicates that they can be considered as viable options for seabream feeds. Differences in FCR suggest that NOPAP can promote a better bioavailability and/or increased absorption of key nutrients than PAP and MIX diets. Indeed, this impairment was also evidenced by their hepatic expression pattern of markers of growth performance. In general, PAP exhibited an opposite response to the NOPAP group. NOPAP was closer to the control diet, and MIX showed intermediate values between PAP and NOPAP in almost all parameters. The markedly pro-inflammatory head kidney expression profile in PAP fish may be also indicative of an impaired response at the mucosal level. In any case, the low proportion of differentially expressed genes between the experimental diets and control (18 out of 71) constitutes an additional and indirect confirmation of their suitability.[Conclusions]: Novel feed formulations for gilthead seabream seem to be viable options for a near future. In any case, all results are related to the formulation itself and cannot be attributed to a specific ingredient alteration. More studies are necessary to understand the cost-benefit of these new formulations and their market acceptability to optimize sustainability within the current/predictable European regulatory framework.“This project was financed from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N° 773330 (GAIN), with additional support from Nord university (Norway) and Sparos SA (Portugal)”

Laboratory Evaluation and Serum Level of Phenobarbital Administered by Different Pathways in Dogs

Background: Anticonvulsants are widely used in the treatment of small animals for the remission of isolated seizures and recurrent seizures in epilepsy, including tonic-clonic seizures and in status epileticus. Phenobarbital is the drug of choice for the management of epileptic seizures, it is considered very effective, safe, low cost and with few side effects. Several routes of administration may be used, with the oral, intravenous and intramuscular routes being the most common, with rectal and nasal routes being the least common. Materials, Methods & Results: Twenty mongrel dogs were used in the present study (aged 1 to 6-year-old, males and females, weighing 6.0 to 17.0 kg). The patients were previously evaluated via physical examination, temperature, respiratory and heart rate, laboratory tests (erythrogram and leukogram), and serum biochemistry by analyzing the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (FA), and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Four experimental groups were established with five animals in each group: animals receiving intramuscular injections of phenobarbital (VIM), animals receiving nasal administration of phenobarbital (VN), animals receiving rectal administration of phenobarbital (VR), and animals receiving oral administration of phenobarbital (VO). Phenobarbital was administered every 12 h for 15 days. To determine the serum level of phenobarbital, 5 mL of jugular vein blood was collected in vacuum tubes for evaluation via hemogram. The serum level was determined after 15 days of continuous administration of phenobarbital, as stable phenobarbital serum levels can only be achieved from 10 to 15 days after the first administration. For the serum biochemistry evaluation, 10 mL of blood from the jugular vein was collected using vacuum syringes for assessing ALT, AST, GGT, and FA levels. Statistical analyses were performed with contrasted variation analysis using the Tukey method and paired t-test for comparison of time points. The level of significance was determined to be 5%. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) among drug administration routes, and among the levels of AST and AF enzymes after the first administration of phenobarbital via the nasal and intramuscular routes. Based on the results, it was concluded that hepatic alterations secondary to the use of phenobarbital for 15 days may occur with a low incidence. The phenobarbital serum concentration in dogs varied when administered via nasal, rectal, and intramuscular routes, but was stable when administered orally.Discussion: The current results are consistent with those of previous studies, indicating that the chronic use of phenobarbital causes an increase in the serum levels of ALT and FA enzymes. It was found that phenobarbital serum levels varied greatly, particularly following nasal, rectal, and intramuscular administration. In the present study, serum phenobarbital levels were within the normal range when administered via the intramuscular, nasal, rectal, and oral routes. This result is inconsistent with that of previous studies where the serum levels were below the normal range following oral administration of phenobarbital. The serum concentration, rather than clinical criteria, should be used as a guide for treatment modification, as the distribution of this drug varies greatly among animals

Signs and symptoms of acute mania: a factor analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The major diagnostic classifications consider mania as a uni-dimensional illness. Factor analytic studies of acute mania are fewer compared to schizophrenia and depression. Evidence from factor analysis suggests more categories or subtypes than what is included in the classification systems. Studies have found that these factors can predict differences in treatment response and prognosis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The sample included 131 patients consecutively admitted to an acute psychiatry unit over a period of one year. It included 76 (58%) males. The mean age was 44.05 years (SD = 15.6). Patients met International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) clinical diagnostic criteria for a manic episode. Patients with a diagnosis of mixed bipolar affective disorder were excluded. Participants were evaluated using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Exploratory factor analysis (principal component analysis) was carried out and factors with an eigenvalue > 1 were retained. The significance level for interpretation of factor loadings was 0.40. The unrotated component matrix identified five factors. Oblique rotation was then carried out to identify three factors which were clinically meaningful.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Unrotated principal component analysis extracted five factors. These five factors explained 65.36% of the total variance. Oblique rotation extracted 3 factors. Factor 1 corresponding to 'irritable mania' had significant loadings of irritability, increased motor activity/energy and disruptive aggressive behaviour. Factor 2 corresponding to 'elated mania' had significant loadings of elevated mood, language abnormalities/thought disorder, increased sexual interest and poor insight. Factor 3 corresponding to 'psychotic mania' had significant loadings of abnormalities in thought content, appearance, poor sleep and speech abnormalities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings identified three clinically meaningful factors corresponding to 'elated mania', 'irritable mania' and 'psychotic mania'. These findings support the multidimensional nature of manic symptoms. Further evidence is needed to support the existence of corresponding clinical subtypes.</p

A Single Argonaute Gene Participates in Exogenous and Endogenous RNAi and Controls Cellular Functions in the Basal Fungus Mucor circinelloides

The mechanism of RNAi is well described in metazoans where it plays a role in diverse cellular functions. However, although different classes of endogenous small RNAs (esRNAs) have been identified in fungi, their biological roles are poorly described due, in part, to the lack of phenotype of mutants affected in the biogenesis of these esRNAs. Argonaute proteins are one of the key components of the RNAi pathways, in which different members of this protein family participate in the biogenesis of a wide repertoire of esRNAs molecules. Here we identified three argonaute genes of the fungus Mucor circinelloides and investigated their participation in exogenous and endogenous RNAi. We found that only one of the ago genes, ago-1, is involved in RNAi during vegetative growth and is required for both transgene-induced RNA silencing and the accumulation of distinct classes of esRNAs derived from exons (ex-siRNAs). Classes I and II ex-siRNAs bind to Ago-1 to control mRNA accumulation of the target protein coding genes. Class III ex-siRNAs do not specifically bind to Ago-1, but requires this protein for their production, revealing the complexity of the biogenesis pathways of ex-siRNAs. We also show that ago-1 is involved in the response to environmental signals, since vegetative development and autolysis induced by nutritional stress are affected in ago-1(-) M. circinelloides mutants. Our results demonstrate that a single Ago protein participates in the production of different classes of esRNAs that are generated through different pathways. They also highlight the role of ex-siRNAs in the regulation of endogenous genes in fungi and expand the range of biological functions modulated by RNAi

TOMATORG: Sistema Orgânico de Produção de Tomates em Santa Catarina

Dentre as hortaliças produzidas no sistema orgânico, o tomateiro é a que apresenta os maiores desafios. Com base nessas dificuldades é que a Epagri de Itajaí criou o Sistema Orgânico de Produção de Tomates em Santa Catarina (TOMATORG). O sistema engloba todas as práticas culturais necessárias para a correta produção de tomate orgânico. As tecnologias preconizadas nesta publicação possibilitam que alguns produtores obtenham produtividades superiores a 80 t ha-1, sendo o dobro do observado comumente por produtores orgânicos no Estado de Santa Catarina.Esta publicação reúne os conhecimentos gerados por 16 anos de pesquisa, com trabalhos de experimentação agrícola dentro da Epagri de Itajaí, pesquisas participativas com tradicionais produtores de tomate orgânico e pela experiência de técnicos da Epagri envolvidos com a cadeia produtiva.A obra é destinada aos técnicos de extensão rural, estudantes de Agronomia e aos produtores que estão ou querem produzir tomate orgânico. Como a publicação aborda práticas culturais aplicáveis a muitas hortaliças, também poderá ser utilizada como guia em cursos e treinamentos realizados pela Epagri sobre a produção orgânica de diferentes cultivos

ANÁLISE DA QUALIDADE DE VIDA DE ADULTOS PARTICIPANTES DE UM PROGRAMA DE GINÁSTICA LABORAL

O objetivo foi analisar a qualidade de vida de participantes de um programa de Ginástica Laboral. O estudo observou 48 indivíduos, pertencentes do programa Saúde Integral do Trabalhador, com idade entre 36 e 67 anos ( =50,0±8,9 anos), sendo 11 mulheres e 37 homens. Para avaliação da Qualidade de Vida, foi utilizado o instrumento genérico Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Após a aplicação dos questionários, as informações coletadas foram armazenadas em único banco de dados em Epi Info 2000. Foram observadas as variáveis relatadas por sintomas de “dor, aspectos sociais e funcionais”. A amostra analisada mostrou valores de pontuação acima de 50 pontos (mediana). Além disso, o domínio “dor” foi o único a apresentar valores inferiores ao ponto estabelecido pela mediana. Concluímos que o programa de ginástica laboral pode contribuir para a melhora destes aspectos, principalmente naqueles que demonstram menores valores

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

SummaryBackground The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation