Performance analysis of an SRI screen based on employment quality in high and low capital industries: International evidence

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics and Maastricht University School of Business and Economics

Corporate performance and the pay gap

Increasing disparity between executive compensation and that of the average worker (the pay gap) has generated a fierce debate about its causes and effects. This paper studies the determinants and performance effects of the pay gap through the prism of Tournament Incentives and the Equity Fairness Theory. Results show that the size of the pay gap is caused primarily by the size of the firm and by the standards of its industry and also by the unionization rate and whether the Chairman is also the CEO. The paper Concludes by showins that the pay gap has a positive effect on firm performance in the United States Keywords:

Influenza infection and Kawasaki disease

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to investigate the possible link between influenza (Flu) infection and Kawasaki disease (KD). METHODS: We examined the medical records of 1,053 KD cases and 4,669 influenza infection cases hospitalized at our institute from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013. Cases of KD with concomitant influenza infection formed the KD + Flu group. Each KD + Flu case was matched with 2 KD cases and 2 influenza infection cases, and these cases were assigned to the KD group and Flu group, respectively. The differences in the principal clinical manifestations, course of disease, incomplete KD rate, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance rate, and echocardiographic detection results between the KD + Flu group and KD group were compared. The fever durations and laboratory test results of these three groups were compared. RESULTS: 1) The seasonal variations of the KD + Flu group, KD group and Flu group were similar. 2) The morbidity rate of incomplete KD was higher in the KD + Flu group compared with the KD group. 3) Patients in the KD + Flu group exhibited a longer time to KD diagnosis compared with patients in the KD group. 4) The KD + Flu group exhibited the longest fever duration among the three groups. 5) The CRP and ESR values in the KD + Flu group were higher those in the Flu or KD groups. CONCLUSIONS: Concomitant influenza infection affects the clinical manifestations of KD and can impact the laboratory test results and the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. However, it remains unclear whether influenza contributes to KD etiology.

Premature thelarche: identification of clinical and laboratory data for the diagnosis of precocious puberty

PURPOSE: Two groups of girls with premature breast development were studied retrospectively. We tried to identify clinical, radiological, and hormonal parameters that could distinguish between a benign, nonprogressive premature thelarche and a true precocious puberty. METHODS: The clinical outcome of 88 girls with breast enlargement before 6.1 years of age was analyzed. Taking into account the progression of their sexual maturation, we allocated the children into 2 groups: "Isolated Premature Thelarche" (n = 63) and "Precocious Puberty" (n = 25) groups. Chronological and bone ages, height and growth velocity centiles, computerized tomography of hypothalamus-pituitary area, pelvic ultrasonography, gonadotropin response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone stimulation as well as basal levels of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, estradiol, and prolactin were studied in both groups. Statistical analysis were performed using the Student t test to compare the sample means. Fisher's exact test and chi² test were used to analyze the nonparametric variables. RESULTS: Isolated premature thelarche most frequently affected girls younger than 2 years who presented exaggerated follicle-stimulating hormone response to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone stimulation test. The precocious puberty group had higher initial stature, accelerated growth rate and bone age, increased uterine and ovarian volumes, high spontaneous luteinizing hormone levels by immunofluorimetric assay, as well as a high luteinizing hormone response and peak luteinizing hormone/follicle-stimulating hormone ratio after luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone stimulation. CONCLUSION: At initial presentation, girls who undergo true precocious puberty present advanced bone age, increased uterine and ovarian volumes in addition to breast enlargement, as well as an luteinizing hormone-predominant response after a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone stimulation test.

Exchange rate pressure in Angola

The objective of this work is to develop an operational tool to analyze exchange rate pressure in the context of Angola. The Angolan economy exhibits a number of relevant characteristics: a closed financial account, a partially controlled current account, a highly dollarized economy and exports (oil) price determined in World markets. These features have a direct effect on the demand of foreign currency and motivate their inclusion in the specification of a model for Angola. The model provides the rational for a measure of an exchange market rate pressure (EMP) index that contains exports changes, imports changes, the foreign interest rate and inflation and the change in foreign reserves corrected for a measure dollarization. The empirical performance new measure is comparable (slightly better) to the performance of the EMP indexes obtained in Eichengreen Rose and Wyplosz (1994) and Klassen and Jager (2011).

Photosynthetic parameters and growth in seedlings of Bertholletia excelsa and Carapa guianensis in response to pre-acclimation to full sunlight and mild water stress

Light and water are important factors that may limit the growth and development of higher plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate photosynthetic parameters and growth in seedlings of Bertholletia excelsa and Carapa guianensis in response to pre-acclimation to full sunlight and mild water stress. I used six independent pre-acclimation treatments (0, 90 (11h15-12h45), 180 (10h30-13h30), 360 (09h00-15h00), 540 (07h30-16h30) and 720 min (06h00-18h00)) varying the time of exposure to full sunlight (PFS) during 30 days, followed by whole-day outdoor exposure for 120 days. Before PFS, the plants were kept in a greenhouse at low light levels (0.8 mol m-2 day-1). The PFS of 0 min corresponded to plants constantly kept under greenhouse conditions. From the beginning to the end of the experiment, each PFS treatment was submitted to two water regimes: moderate water stress (MWS, pre-dawn leaf water potential (ΨL) of -500 to -700 kPa) and without water stress (WWS, ΨL of -300 kPa, soil kept at field capacity). Plants under MWS received only a fraction of the amount of water applied to the well-watered ones. At the end of the 120-day-period under outdoor conditions, I evaluated light saturated photosynthesis (Amax), stomatal conductance (g s), transpiration (E) and plant growth. Both Amax and g s were higher for all plants under the PFS treatment. Stem diameter growth rate and Amax were higher for C. guianensis subjected to MWS than in well-watered plants. The contrary was true for B. excelsa. The growth of seedlings was enhanced by exposure to full sunlight for 180 minutes in both species. However, plants of B. excelsa were sensitive to moderate water stress. The higher photosynthetic rates and faster growth of C. guianensis under full sun and moderate water stress make this species a promissory candidate to be tested in reforestation programs.

Cognitive functioning and efficacy of cognitive intervention in Multiple Sclerosis

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia Clínica / Psicologia

Oxygen mass transfer impact on citric acid production by Yarrowia lipolytica from crude glycerol

Production of citric acid from crude glycerol from biodiesel industry, in batch cultures of Yarrowia lipolytica W29 was performed in a lab-scale stirred tank bioreactor in order to assess the effect of oxygen mass transfer rate in this bioprocess. An empirical correlation was proposed to describe oxygen volumetric mass transfer coefficient (kLa) as a function of operating conditions (stirring speed and specific air flow rate) and cellular density. kLa increased according with a power function with specific power input and superficial gas velocity, and slightly decreased with cellular density. The increase of initial kLa from 7 h-1 to 55 h-1 led to 7.8-fold increase of citric acid final concentration. Experiments were also performed at controlled dissolved oxygen (DO) and citric acid concentration increased with DO up to 60% of saturation. Thus, due to the simpler operation setting an optimal kLa than at controlled DO, it can be concluded that kLa is an adequate parameter for the optimization of citric acid production from crude glycerol by Y. lipolytica and to be considered in bioprocess scale-up. Our empirical correlation, considering the operating conditions and cellular density, will be a valid tool for this purpose.

O efeito da deposição salina nas características das escorrências rodoviárias em zonas costeiras

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Civil.

Development and characterization of lipid-based nanosystems for controlled release of bioactive compounds

Tese de Doutoramento em Engenharia Química e Biológica.

Safety and efficacy of coronary stent implantation. Acute and six month outcomes of 1,126 consecutive patients treated in 1996 and 1997

PURPOSE: The authors analyzed the 30-day and 6-month outcomes of 1,126 consecutive patients who underwent coronary stent implantation in 1996 and 1997. METHODS: The 30-day results and 6-month angiographic follow-up were analyzed in patients treated with coronary stents in 1996 and 1997. All patients underwent coronary stenting with high-pressure implantation (>12 atm) and antiplatelet drug regimen (aspirin plus ticlopidine). RESULTS: During the study period, 1,390 coronary stents were implanted in 1,200 vessels of 1,126 patients; 477 patients were treated in the year 1996 and 649 in 1997. The number of percutaneous procedures performed using stents increased significantly in 1997 compared to 1996 (64 % vs 48%, p=0.0001). The 30-day results were similar in both years; the success and stent thrombosis rates were equal (97% and 0.8%, respectively). The occurrence of new Q wave MI (1.3% vs 1.1%, 1996 vs 1997, p=NS), emergency coronary bypass surgery (1% vs 0.6%, 1996 vs 1997, p=NS) and 30-day death rates (0.2% vs 0.5%, 1996 vs 1997, p=NS) were similar. The 6-month restenosis rate was 25% in 1996 and 27% in 1997 (p= NS); the target vessel revascularization rate was 15% in 1996 and 16% in 1997 (p = NS). CONCLUSIONS: Intracoronary stenting showed a high success rate and a low incidence of 30-day occurrence of new major coronary events in both periods, despite the greater angiographic complexity of the patients treated with in 1997. These adverse variables did not have a negative influence at the 6-month clinical and angiographic follow-up, with similar rates of restenosis and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization rates.

Influence of chitosan coating on protein-based nanohydrogels properties and in vitro gastric digestibility

Chitosan coating was applied in Lactoferrin (Lf)-Glycomacropeptide (GMP) nanohydrogels by layer-by-layer coating process. A volume ratio of 0.1 of Lf-GMP nanohydrogels (0.2 mg.mL-1, at pH 5.0) to chitosan (1 mg.mL-1, at pH 3) demonstrated to be the optimal condition to obtain stable nanohydrogels with size of 230 ± 12 nm, a PdI of 0.22 ± 0.02 and a -potential of 30.0 ± 0.15 mV. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the application of chitosan coating in Lf-GMP did not affect the spherical shape of nanohydrogels and confirmed the low aggregation of nanohydrogels in solution. The analysis of chemical interactions between chitosan and Lf-GMP nanohydrogels were performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and by circular dichroism (CD) that revealed that a specific chemical interaction occurring between functional groups of protein-based nanohydrogels and active groups of the chitosan was established. The effect of chitosan coating on release mechanisms of Lf-GMP nanohydrogels at acid conditions (pH 2, 37 ºC) was evaluated by the encapsulation of a model compound (caffeine) in these systems. Linear Superposition Model was used to fit the experimental data and revealed that Fick and relaxation mechanisms are involved in caffeine release. It was also observed that the Fick contribution increase with the application of chitosan coating. In vitro gastric digestion was performed with Lf-GMP nanohydrogels and Lf-GMP nanohydrogels with chitosan coating and it was observed that the presence of chitosan improve the stability of Lf and GMP (proteins were hydrolysed at a slower rate and were present in solution by longer time). Native electrophoreses revealed that the nanohydrogels without coating remained intact in solution until 15 min and with chitosan coating remained intact until 60 min, during gastric digestion.

A design of experiments to assess phosphorous removal and crystal properties in struvite precipitation of source separated urine using different Mg sources

Supplementary data associated with this article can be found, in the online version, at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2016.03.148.

Diagnostic value of the tilt-table test for the assessment of syncope in children and adolescents

OBJECTIVE - To assess the diagnostic value, the characteristics, and feasibility of tilt-table testing in children and adolescents. METHODS - From August 1991 to June 1997, we retrospectively assessed 94 patients under the age of 18 years who had a history of recurring syncope and presyncope of unknown origin and who were referred for tilt-table testing. These patients were divided into 2 groups: group I (children) - 36 patients with ages ranging from 3 to 12 (mean of 9.19±2.31) years; group II (adolescents) - 58 patients with ages ranging from 13 to 18 (mean of 16.05±1.40) years. We compared the positivity rate, the type of hemodynamic response, and the time period required for the test to become positive in the 2 groups. RESULTS - The positivity rates were 41.6 % and 50% for groups I and II, respectively. The pattern of positive hemodynamic response that predominated in both groups was the mixed response. The mean time period required for the test to become positive was shorter in group I (11.0±7.23 min) than in group II (18.44±7.83 min). No patient experienced technical difficulty or complications. CONCLUSION - No difference was observed in regard to feasibility, positivity rate, and pattern of positive response for the tilt-table test in children and adolescents. Pediatric patients had earlier positive responses.

Biventricular pacing improves clinical behavior and reduces prevalence of ventricular srrhythmia in patients with heart failure

PURPOSE: To analyze the influence of biventricular pacing (BP) on clinical behavior, ventricular arrhythmia (VA) prevalence, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LV EF) by gated ventriculography. METHODS: Twenty-four patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB) and NYHA class III and IV underwent pacemaker implantation and were randomized either to the conventional or BP group, all receiving BP after 6 months. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were in NYHA class IV (66.6%) and 8 were in class III (33.4%). After 1-year follow-up, 14 patients were in class II (70%) and 5 were in class III (25%). Two sudden cardiac deaths occurred. A significant reduction in QRS length was found with BP (p=0.006). A significant statistical increase, from a mean of 19.13 ± 5.19% (at baseline) to 25.33 ± 5.90% (with BP) was observed in LVEF Premature ventricular contraction prevalence decreased from a mean of 10,670.00 ± 12,595.39 SD or to a mean of 3,007.00 ± 3,216.63 SD PVC/24 h with BP (p<0.05). Regarding the hospital admission rate over 1 year, we observed a significant reduction from 60. To 16 admissions with BP (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients with LBBB and severe heart failure experienced, with BP, a significant NYHA class and LVEF improvement. A reduction in the hospital admission rate and VA prevalence also occurred.