Network centrality, connections, and social capital: Evidence from CEO insider trading gains

Chief executive officer\u27s (CEO\u27s) insider trading gains are affected by the position of the CEO within the hierarchy of all executives, as assessed by network centrality. CEOs with high centrality earn superior abnormal returns following their company\u27s stock purchases, consistent with social capital advantage. Social capital and trading gains are positively associated primarily in firms that are riskier, have weak governance, or are managed by CEOs with no background in finance. High‐centrality CEOs also gain by selling their shares prior to a bad news event experienced by their firm. Finally, trading gains are positively affected by CEOs having past connections to the chief financial officers

CEO network centrality and merger performance

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. We study the effects on M&A outcomes of CEO network centrality, which measures the extent and strength of a CEO[U+05F3]s personal connections. High network centrality can allow CEOs to efficiently gather and control private information, facilitating value-creating acquisition decisions. We show, however, that M&A deals initiated by high-centrality CEOs, in addition to being more frequent, carry greater value losses to both the acquirer and the combined entity than deals initiated by low-centrality CEOs. We also document that high-centrality CEOs are capable of avoiding the discipline of the markets for corporate control and the executive labor market, and that the mitigating effect of internal governance on CEO actions is limited. Our evidence suggests that corporate decisions can be influenced by a CEO[U+05F3]s position in the social hierarchy, with high-centrality CEOs using their power and influence to increase entrenchment and reap private benefits

Preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation for locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma

Aims and BackgroundTo evaluate toxicity and the radical resection rate in gastric adenocarcinoma treated with preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation.Materials & Methods32 patients, 22 males and 10 females with gastric adenocarcinoma, were treated with chemoradiation and hyperthermia.ResultsThe neoadjuvant regimen was completed as planned in 19/32 (59 %) patients; in the remaining patients the intensity of chemotherapy had to be reduced because of haematological and gastrointestinal toxicity. Surgical stage was as follows: 2 patients pathologically complete response, 3 patients AJCC stage I.A, 5 patients stage I.B, 7 patients stage II, 7 patients stage III.A, 1 patient stage III.B, 7 patients stage IV. R0 resection was achieved in 19/32 (59%) patients, R1 in 2/32 (6%) patients and R2 in 11 (34%) patients. Downstaging after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was achieved in 17/32 (53%) patients. At the date of evaluation (31 March 2009), 4 patients were still alive 58, 81, 86 and 98 months from the date of diagnosis. Median survival was 18 months (95% confidence interval: 13–38 months). One-year survival was 69% (95% confidence interval: 53%–85%). Four-year survival was 19% (95% C.I.: 5%–34%).ConclusionsPreoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy has acceptable toxicity, and can lead to a high rate of R0 resections

Immune response of macrophages from young and aged mice to the oral pathogenic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis

Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory gum disease that in severe cases leads to tooth loss. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is a bacterium closely associated with generalized forms of periodontal disease. Clinical onset of generalized periodontal disease commonly presents in individuals over the age of 40. Little is known regarding the effect of aging on inflammation associated with periodontal disease. In the present study we examined the immune response of bone marrow derived macrophages (BMM) from young (2-months) and aged (1-year and 2-years) mice to Pg strain 381. Pg induced robust expression of cytokines; tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10, chemokines; neutrophil chemoattractant protein (KC), macrophage colony stimulating factor (MCP)-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α and regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), as well as nitric oxide (NO, measured as nitrite), and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) from BMM of young mice. BMM from the 2-year age group produced significantly less TNF-α, IL-6 and NO in response to Pg as compared with BMM from 2-months and 1-year of age. We did not observe any difference in the levels of IL-1β, IL-10 and PGE2 produced by BMM in response to Pg. BMM from 2-months and 1-year of age produced similar levels of all chemokines measured with the exception of MCP-1, which was reduced in BMM from 1-year of age. BMM from the 2-year group produced significantly less MCP-1 and MIP-1α compared with 2-months and 1-year age groups. No difference in RANTES production was observed between age groups. Employing a Pg attenuated mutant, deficient in major fimbriae (Pg DPG3), we observed reduced ability of the mutant to stimulate inflammatory mediator expression from BMMs as compared to Pg 381, irrespective of age. Taken together these results support senescence as an important facet of the reduced immunological response observed by BMM of aged host to the periodontal pathogen Pg

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

Analysis of procainamide-derivatised heparan sulphate disaccharides in biological samples using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are a family of linear heteropolysaccharides made up of repeating disaccharide units that are found on the surface and extracellular matrix of animal cells. They are known to play a critical role in a wide range of cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation and invasion. To elucidate the mechanism of action of these molecules, it is essential to quantify their disaccharide composition. Analytical methods that have been reported involve either chemical or enzymatic depolymerisation of GAGs followed by separation of non-derivatised (native) or derivatised disaccharide subunits and detection by either UV/fluorescence or MS. However, the measurement of these disaccharides is challenging due to their hydrophilic and labile nature. Here we report a pre-column LC-MS method for the quantification of GAG disaccharide subunits. Heparan sulphate (HS) was extracted from cell lines using a combination of molecular weight cutoff and anion exchange spin filters and digested using a mixture of heparinases I, II and III. The resulting subunits were derivatised with procainamide, separated using hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography and detected using electrospray ionisation operated in positive ion mode. Eight HS disaccharides were separated and detected together with an internal standard. The limit of detection was found to be in the range 0.6–4.9 ng/mL. Analysis of HS extracted from all cell lines tested in this study revealed a significant variation in their composition with the most abundant disaccharide being the non-sulphated ∆UA–GlcNAc. Some structural functional relationships are discussed demonstrating the viability of the pre-column method for studying GAG biolog