Privileged Interfirm/Bank Relationships in Central Europe: Trigger or Trap for Corporate Governance?

The paper focuses on the question whether banks and capital markets in Central Europe are capable of exerting a positive influence on enterprise performance at the present stage of the economic transformation. These markets are characterised by privileged, collaborative interfirm/interbank relationships demonstrated through various channels. Among them is the competition for private deposits between commercial and national banks that are simultaneously supervisors of commercial banks, as is the case in Poland. Other channels include: heavily indebted large banks that are owners of industrial companies (as is the case in Slovakia with the steel mill VSZ owning the third largest bank IRB), investment funds that are facilitating industrial restructuring, and foreign banks holding only minority stakes in large domestic financial institutions.Interfirm, bank relationship, Central Europe

Privileged Interfirm/Bank Relationships in Central Europe: Trigger or Trap for Corporate Governance?

The paper focuses on the question whether banks and capital markets in Central Europe are capable of exerting a positive influence on enterprise performance at the present stage of the economic transformation. These markets are characterised by privileged, collaborative interfirm/interbank relationships demonstrated through various channels. Among them is the competition for private deposits between commercial and national banks that are simultaneously supervisors of commercial banks, as is the case in Poland. Other channels include: heavily indebted large banks that are owners of industrial companies (as is the case in Slovakia with the steel mill VSZ owning the third largest bank IRB), investment funds that are facilitating industrial restructuring, and foreign banks holding only minority stakes in large domestic financial institutions.

Determinants of Quality Education Provision in Community Secondary Schools (CSSs) in Temeke MunicipalCouncil

The study assessed the exent to which a combination of school based and environmental factors affect provision of quality education in Community Secondary Schoolsin Temeke Municipal. The study employed qualitative research approach and utilized interviews, non-participant observation, documentary review and focused group discussion as methods of data collection. Participants in the study were purposively selected. It was further revealed that although the teachers were academically well qualified, experienced and dedicated to helping students’ learn their work performance was greatly affected by lack of incentives and students’ truancy, parents’ insufficient close follow-up, cultural practices as well as the students’ themselves lack of interest in education. The study concluded that the quality of education in Temeke Municipality is affected by a number of interrelated factors which have to be looked upon holistically. These factors range from the students themselves, teachers, school facilities and socio-cultural practices which affect effective provision of quality education. It would appear that the government’s intention to establish CSSs as a strategy of providing more secondary education opportunities has not gone concurrently with the necessary cooperation from the teachers, students themselves, parents and communities at large to ensure provision of quality education is realised. While the government is urged to strategise on how to increase the number of mathematics and science teachers, the study also recommends that Temeke Municipality should continue to sensitize parents on the value of education for their children. Another recommendation is for a follow-up study which will be quantitative in nature involving a large geographical coverage beyond four schools and a large sample to generalize findings

Long-term efficacy and safety results of taliglucerase alfa through 5years in adult treatment-naïve patients with Gaucher disease

Taliglucerase alfa, the first available plant cell-expressed recombinant therapeutic protein, is an enzyme replacement therapy approved for Gaucher disease (GD). PB-06-001, a pivotal phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-dose study investigated taliglucerase alfa 30 or 60U/kg every other week through 9months in treatment-naïve adults with GD; 30-month extension study PB-06-003 followed. Patients completing PB-06-001 and PB-06-003 could continue treatment in PB-06-007. Nineteen patients enrolled in PB-06-007 (30U/kg, n=8; 60U/kg, n=9; dose adjusted, n=2); 17 completed 5 total years of treatment. In these 3 groups, respectively, taliglucerase alfa resulted in mean decreases in spleen volume (-8.7, -6.9, -12.4 multiples of normal), liver volume (-0.6, -0.4, -0.5 multiples of normal), chitotriosidase activity (-83.1%, -93.4%, -87.9%), and chemokine (CC motif) ligand 18 concentration (-66.7%, -83.3%, -78.9%), as well as mean increases in hemoglobin concentration (+2.1, +2.1, +1.8mg/dL) and platelet count (+31,871, +106,800, +34,000/mm3). The most common adverse events were nasopharyngitis and arthralgia. Most adverse events were mild/moderate; no serious adverse events were considered treatment-related. These results demonstrate continued improvement of disease parameters during 5years of taliglucerase alfa therapy in 17 treatment-naive patients with no new safety concerns, extending the taliglucerase alfa clinical efficacy and safety dataset. This study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01422187

Seasonal and Inter-annual Variation of Evapotranspiration in Amazonia Based on Precipitation, River Discharge and Gravity Anomaly Data

We analyzed seasonal and spatial variations of evapotranspiration (ET) for five Amazon sub-basins and their response to the 2015/16 El Nino episode using a recently developed water-budget approach. ET varied typically between similar to 7 and 10 cm/month with exception of the Xingu basin for which it varied between 10 and 15 cm/month. Outstanding features of ET seasonality are (i) generally weak seasonality, (ii) two ET peaks for the two very wet catchments Solimoes and Negro, with one occurring during the wet season and one during the drier season, and (iii) a steady increase of ET during the second half of the dry season for the three drier catchments (Madeira, Tapajos, Xingu). Peak ET occurs during the first half of the wet season consistent with leaf flush occurring before the onset of the wet season. With regards to inter-annual variation, we found firstly that for the Solimoes and Madeira catchments the period with large positive wet season anomalies (2012-2015) is associated with negative ET anomalies, and negative SIF (solar induced fluorescence) anomalies. Furthermore, we found negative ET of several cm/months and SIF (up to 50%) anomalies for most of the Amazon basin during the 2015/16 El Nino event suggesting down-regulation of productivity as a main factor of positive carbon flux anomalies during anomalously hot and dry conditions. These results are of interest in view of predicted warmer and more erratic future climate conditions.Peer reviewe

Beta-agonist overuse and delay in obtaining medical review in high risk asthma: a secondary analysis of data from a randomised controlled trial

Asthma mortality surveys report delays in seeking medical review and overuse of beta-agonist therapy as factors contributing to a fatal outcome. However, the strength of these associations is limited because many asthma deaths are unwitnessed. We undertook a secondary analysis of data from a 24-week randomised controlled trial of 303 patients with high-risk asthma, randomised to combination budesonide/formoterol inhaler according to a single maintenance and reliever therapy regimen or fixed dose budesonide/formoterol with salbutamol as reliever (Standard) regimen. Medication use was measured by electronic monitors. The thresholds for high, marked and extreme beta-agonist use days were defined in the single maintenance and reliever therapy arm as: >8, >12 and >16 actuations of budesonide/formoterol in excess of four maintenance doses, respectively; and in the Standard arm as: >16, >24 and >32 actuations of salbutamol, respectively. Whether a medical review was obtained within 48 h of an overuse episode was determined by review of data collected during the study by participant report. The mean (standard deviation) proportion of days in which high, marked and extreme beta-agonist overuse occurred without medical review within 48 h was 0·94 (0·20), 0·94(0·15) and 0·94(0·17), and 0·92(0·19), 0·90(0·26) and 0·94(0·15) for single maintenance and reliever therapy and Standard regimens, respectively. In at least 90% of days, in which beta-agonist overuse occurred, patients did not obtain medical review within 48 h of beta-agonist overuse, regardless of the magnitude of overuse or the inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist regimen

Who and when should we screen for prostate cancer? Interviews with key opinion leaders

Prostate cancer screening using prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is highly controversial. In this Q & A, Guest Editors for BMC Medicine's 'Spotlight on Prostate Cancer' article collection, Sigrid Carlsson and Andrew Vickers, invite some of the world's key opinion leaders to discuss who, and when, to screen for prostate cancer. In response to the points of view from the invited experts, the Guest Editors summarize the experts' views and give their own personal opinions on PSA screening