Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously.Corporate Governance; Stakeholder influence; Management dismissal

Graph problems arising from parameter identification of discrete dynamical systems

This paper focuses on combinatorial feasibility and optimization problems that arise in the context of parameter identification of discrete dynamical systems. Given a candidate parametric model for a physical system and a set of experimental observations, the objective of parameter identification is to provide estimates of the parameter values for which the model can reproduce the experiments. To this end, we define a finite graph corresponding to the model, to each arc of which a set of parameters is associated. Paths in this graph are regarded as feasible only if the sets of parameters corresponding to the arcs of the path have nonempty intersection. We study feasibility and optimization problems on such feasible paths, focusing on computational complexity. We show that, under certain restrictions on the sets of parameters, some of the problems become tractable, whereas others are NP-hard. In a similar vein, we define and study some graph problems for experimental design, whose goal is to support the scientist in optimally designing new experiment

Concomitant Carcinoma in situ in Cystectomy Specimens Is Not Associated with Clinical Outcomes after Surgery

Objective: The aim of this study was to externally validate the prognostic value of concomitant urothelial carcinoma in situ (CIS) in radical cystectomy (RC) specimens using a large international cohort of bladder cancer patients. Methods: The records of 3,973 patients treated with RC and bilateral lymphadenectomy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) at nine centers worldwide were reviewed. Surgical specimens were evaluated by a genitourinary pathologist at each center. Uni- and multivariable Cox regression models addressed time to recurrence and cancer-specific mortality after RC. Results: 1,741 (43.8%) patients had concomitant CIS in their RC specimens. Concomitant CIS was more common in organ-confined UCB and was associated with lymphovascular invasion (p < 0.001). Concomitant CIS was not associated with either disease recurrence or cancer-specific death regardless of pathologic stage. The presence of concomitant CIS did not improve the predictive accuracy of standard predictors for either disease recurrence or cancer-specific death in any of the subgroups. Conclusions: We could not confirm the prognostic value of concomitant CIS in RC specimens. This, together with the discrepancy between pathologists in determining the presence of concomitant CIS at the morphologic level, limits the clinical utility of concomitant CIS in RC specimens for clinical decision-making. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously

Who disciples the CFO? An assessment of stakeholder power in corporate governance

We analyze the respective influence of employee and shareholder interests on the dismissal of 89 Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of major German companies between 1999 and 2006. Drawing on stakeholder-agency theory, we argue that employees wield sufficient power to affect executive replacements. We show that the provision of job security as a proxy for employee interests has a significant effect on the likelihood of CFO dismissal. This effect is independent of the fulfillment of shareholders’ objectives. We conclude that stakeholder groups beyond shareholders exert influence on corporate governance. We argue that executives need to respond to several stakeholder groups simultaneously

E-Learning Is Not Inferior to On-Site Teaching in a Psychiatric Examination Course

Background: Implementing e-learning into medical education is a growing field of research. Researchers have had positive experiences so far, and evidence suggests it to be no less effective than offline teaching. However, there are a few findings concerning psychiatric education and the use of simulated patients online. Methods: We developed an online workshop for medical students at our psychiatric clinic, including group work exercises, lectures, and interviews with simulated patients. To compare the learning outcome, a cohort of students learning online was compared with a previous cohort that learned on-site. The same objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) was used in both cases. Evaluation questionnaires were gathered from students and lecturers and were compared with the former semesters along with the exam results. Results: The exam grades did not significantly differ between on-site and online teaching, even though students rated their own communication skills better with online teaching. We also found that the connection experienced between students and teachers was impaired without on-site contact. Discussion: We conclude that an online course may be an effective alternative to on-site teaching but requires further improvement to maintain a dependable student–teacher relationship

Randomized controlled trial of asynchronous vs. synchronous online teaching formats: equal knowledge after training, greater acceptance and lower intrinsic motivation through asynchronous online learning

Background The growing importance of online education in recent years has led to an increased focus on implementing and optimizing online learning formats. This study investigated how a lecture delivered in an asynchronous or synchronous online teaching format affects acceptance, intrinsic motivation and knowledge levels after training. The results can be used to optimize online education by identifying format-specific advantages and adapting them to learners’ needs. Methods All the Styrian paramedics ( N  = 5910) were invited to participate in the study and randomly assigned to one of two groups. A total of 1044 participants completed the trial, with one group receiving asynchronous training via a learning platform ( N  = 545) and the other group participating in synchronous training via webinars ( N  = 499) providing the same content. After completing a two-hour psychiatric emergency course, the participants were invited to complete a multiple-choice test and a survey assessing acceptance, preferences and intrinsic motivation. Linear regression, t tests and mediation analyses were conducted. Results The asynchronous training format was significantly more accepted ( p  <.001) and preferred overall. The participants’ preferences depended significantly on the type of learning format ( p  <.001). The synchronous learning format fostered greater intrinsic motivation ( p  =.001) and greater perceived autonomy ( p  <.001) but also a higher level of perceived pressure/tension ( p  =.003). The analysis revealed no significant difference in test results ( p  =.449) or perceived competence between the groups ( p  =.420). Furthermore, the difference in intrinsic motivation was fully mediated by perceived autonomy. Conclusions There are different advantages and disadvantages to providing a lecture via webinar or online learning platform. Both formats are equally effective in terms of knowledge levels after training, highlighting the importance of adapting teaching strategies to learners’ preferences.Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (8546

Analysis of bi-atrial function using CMR feature tracking and long-axis shortening approaches in patients with diastolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation.

OBJECTIVES Atrial function can be assessed using advancing cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) post-processing methods: atrial feature tracking (FT) strain analysis or a long-axis shortening (LAS) technique. This study aimed to first compare the two FT and LAS techniques in healthy individuals and cardiovascular patients and then investigated how left (LA) and right atrial (RA) measurements are related to the severity of diastolic dysfunction or atrial fibrillation. METHODS Sixty healthy controls and 90 cardiovascular disease patients with coronary artery disease, heart failure, or atrial fibrillation, underwent CMR. LA and RA were analyzed for standard volumetry as well as for myocardial deformation using FT and LAS for the different functional phases (reservoir, conduit, booster). Additionally, ventricular shortening and valve excursion measurements were assessed with the LAS module. RESULTS The measurements for each of the LA and RA phases were correlated (p < 0.05) between the two approaches, with the highest correlation coefficients occurring in the reservoir phase (LA: r = 0.83, p < 0.01, RA: r = 0.66, p < 0.01). Both methods demonstrated reduced LA (FT: 26 ± 13% vs 48 ± 12%, LAS: 25 ± 11% vs 42 ± 8%, p < 0.01) and RA reservoir function (FT: 28 ± 15% vs 42 ± 15%, LAS: 27 ± 12% vs 42 ± 10%, p < 0.01) in patients compared to controls. Atrial LAS and FT decreased with diastolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation. This mirrored ventricular dysfunction measurements. CONCLUSION Similar results were generated for bi-atrial function measurements between two CMR post-processing approaches of FT and LAS. Moreover, these methods allowed for the assessment of incremental deterioration of LA and RA function with increasing left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation. A CMR-based analysis of bi-atrial strain or shortening discriminates patients with early-stage diastolic dysfunction prior to the presence of compromised atrial and ventricular ejection fractions that occur with late-stage diastolic dysfunction and atrial fibrillation. KEY POINTS • Assessing right and left atrial function with CMR feature tracking or long-axis shortening techniques yields similar measurements and could potentially be used interchangeably based on the software capabilities of individual sites. • Atrial deformation and/or long-axis shortening allow for early detection of subtle atrial myopathy in diastolic dysfunction, even when atrial enlargement is not yet apparent. • Using a CMR-based analysis to understand the individual atrial-ventricular interaction in addition to tissue characteristics allows for a comprehensive interrogation of all four heart chambers. In patients, this could add clinically meaningful information and potentially allow for optimal therapies to be chosen to better target the dysfunction

The Role of Cathepsin B in the Degradation of Aβ and in the Production of Aβ Peptides Starting With Ala2 in Cultured Astrocytes

Astrocytes may not only be involved in the clearance of Amyloid beta peptides (Aβ) in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but appear to produce N-terminally truncated Aβ (Aβn−x) independently of BACE1, which generates the N-Terminus of Aβ starting with Asp1 (Aβ1−x). A candidate protease for the generation of Aβn−x is cathepsin B (CatB), especially since CatB has also been reported to degrade Aβ, which could explain the opposite roles of astrocytes in AD. In this study, we investigated the influence of CatB inhibitors and the deletion of the gene encoding CatB (CTSB) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology on Aβ2−x and Aβ1−x levels in cell culture supernatants by one- and two-dimensional Urea-SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblot. While the cell-permeant inhibitors E64d and CA-074 Me did not significantly affect the Aβ1−x levels in supernatants of cultured chicken and human astrocytes, they did reduce the Aβ2−x levels. In the glioma-derived cell line H4, the Aβ2−x levels were likewise decreased in supernatants by treatment with the more specific, but cell-impermeant CatB-inhibitor CA-074, by CA-074 Me treatment, and by CTSB gene deletion. Additionally, a more than 2-fold increase in secreted Aβ1−x was observed under the latter two conditions. The CA-074 Me-mediated increase of Aβ1−x, but not the decrease of Aβ2−x, was influenced by concomitant treatment with the vacuolar H+-ATPase inhibitor Bafilomycin A1. This indicated that non-lysosomal CatB mediated the production of Aβ2−x in astrocytes, while the degradation of Aβ1−x seemed to be dependent on lysosomal CatB in H4 cells, but not in primary astrocytes. These findings highlight the importance of considering organelle targeting in drug development to promote Aβ degradation

Mitochondrial oxygen metabolism as a potential predictor of weight loss after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy for class III obesity

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate in industrialized countries. Obesity is a systemic disease that causes not only macroscopic alterations, but also mitochondrial dysfunction. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) poses a potential therapeutic option for patients with severe obesity. In order to ascertain the efficacy of bariatric interventions, it is important to assess not only weight loss, but also changes in body composition. Additionally, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between weight loss and cellular oxygen metabolism, a surrogate for mitochondrial function. We used bioimpedance analysis (BIA) to assess changes in weight and body composition in patients up to one year after LSG. To evaluate mitochondrial oxygen metabolism, we used the Cellular Oxygen Metabolism Monitor (COMET) to non-invasively measure the mitochondrial oxygen tension (mitoPO2), mitochondrial oxygen consumption (mitoVO2) and mitochondrial oxygen delivery (mitoDO2). We compared the values obtained in patients with obesity with those of age- and sex-matched healthy controls and investigated changes up to one year after LSG. 48 patients (46.5 years [35.5-55.3]; 38/48 female (79.2%); BMI 46.7 [42.5-51.0]) completed the study. They showed a significant weight loss and a decrease in relative fat mass after six months. We found no differences in mitochondrial oxygen metabolism between obese patients and healthy controls. MitoPO2, mitoVO2 and mitoDO2 did not change up to one year after surgery. It is noteworthy that patients who exhibited higher mitoPO2, mitoVO2, and mitoDO2 values prior to surgery demonstrated superior weight loss outcomes one year after LSG. This was the first study to investigate the non-invasively measured mitochondrial oxygen metabolism in the long-term course after bariatric surgery. Further studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm these findings.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.bfarm.de/DE/Das-BfArM/Aufgaben/Deutsches-Register-Klinischer-Studien/_node.html, identifier DRKS00015891