Search

In many advanced countries, most outside directors are executives, active or retired, at other firms; in other words, executives from other companies make executive compensation decisions. This situation may hinder the board of directors (BOD) in their efforts to optimize executive compensation levels objectively. Using a panel data analysis of the S&P 1500 companies, we provide supplemental evidence of whether, and to what extent, the concurrent executive employment of outside directors distorts the executive pay decisions at a given company. An unbiased fixed-effect estimation confirms that a $1.00 increase in CEO pay at outside directors’ primary companies results in an approximate increase of $0.22 in CEO pay at the given company. From a policy perspective, this added agency problem — caused by the BOD and not by management— is noted as difficult to control; although a firm may establish board independence, the inherent concurrent employment of directors on a board continues to exist.

The interpretation of MRI of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears can be challenging. This review describes the anatomic considerations for diagnosing partial-thickness tears, especially supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendon and summarizes the classification of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears, as well as provides an overview on partial-thickness tears with delamination., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyrights © 2021 The Korean Society of Radiology.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify whether the couple perceived breast cancer as a traumatic event, to evaluate the association among posttraumatic growth, dyadic adjustment, and quality of life and to explore the predictors affecting quality of life of the couple., Methods: A cross-sectional comparative survey design was utilized. Participants were 57 couples recruited from a national cancer center in Korea. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, McNemar test and independent t-test. On the basis of variables found to be significantly associated with quality of life, multiple regression was used to examine the simultaneous influence of multiple predictors., Results: Breast cancers survivors and spouses perceived breast cancer as a traumatic event (43.9% and 24.6%, respectively). The global quality of life was explained by perception as trauma (β=-19.79) and posttraumatic growth (β=0.46) in survivors, and perception as trauma (β=-18.81) and dyadic adjustment (β=0.53) in spouses., Conclusion: Results suggest that future research should use qualitative methods to evaluate why contemplating reasons for cancer contributed to posttraumatic growth, examine other potential predictors of quality of life such as dyadic adjustment and intimacy, and identify links between posttraumatic growth and other psychological outcomes such as distress and well-being, using prospective analyses.

Purpose: This study was done to compare the rates of hemolysis and repeated sampling in blood samples obtained by a syringe needle versus a vacuum tube needle., Methods: A randomized, prospective study was used to evaluate the differences between the two blood sampling methods. The study group consisted of patients seen in the emergency department (ED) for blood sampling to determine electrolyte level. ED patients were randomly assigned to either the syringe group or the vacuum tube group. All blood samples were collected by experienced ED nurses and hemolysis was determined by experienced laboratory technologists. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact test and binary logistic regression., Results: One hundred forty-five valid samples were collected (74 in the syringe group versus 71 in the vacuum tube group). 5 of 74 (6.8%) blood samples in the syringe group and 8 of 71 (11.3%) in the vacuum tube group hemolyzed. Repeated blood sampling occurred for 2 of 74 (2.7%) and 3 of 71 (4.2%) in each group respectively. There were no significant differences in rates of hemolysis and repeated sampling between two groups (B=1.97, p=.204; B=2.36, p=.345)., Conclusion: Venipuncture with syringe needles can be recommended for ED nurses to obtain blood samples.

Background: The performance of Cell-Dyn Sapphire (Abbott Diagnostic, USA) was compared to the Bayer Advia 2120 (Bayer Diagnostics, USA), Sysmex XE-2100 (Sysmex Corporation, Japan), and reference microscopy., Methods: Three hundred samples for routine CBC and WBC differentials were randomly chosen for a comparison analysis. The Cell-Dyn Sapphire system was evaluated according to the linearity, imprecision, inter-instrument correlations, and white blood cell differential., Results: The CBC parameters (WBC, RBC, hemoglobin and platelet) showed a significant linearity with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99 (P<0.0001). Coefficients of variation (CV) for within-run and differential count of WBC were less than 5% except for Total CV for monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils and within-run CV for low valued eosinophils. The correlation coefficients with manual count were lower in monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils than in neutrophils and lymphocytes. The correlation with other hematology anlayzers was significant exclusive of basophils., Conclusions: These results demonstrate that the Cell-Dyn Sapphire has a good linearity, an acceptable reproducibility, a minimal carryover, and a comparable performance with the sysmex XE-2100 and Advia 2120.

A survey was carried out on the larval anisakis in anchovies (Engrauris japonica) which were caught from April to June in 1993 at the southern and eastern sea in Korea. Anisakids in anchovies were morphological classified into Anisakis type I and II and Contracaecum type B and C, after fixation in 70% alcohol and clearing in lactophenol. A total of 171 larval anisakids were collected from 150 anchovies (6.9%) out of 2,180 examined. The infection rates showed no relation with length of the anchovies. The numbers of anisakids by organs of anchovies were 96 (56.1%) from the muscle, 65 (38.0%) from the omentum, 7 (4.1%) from the intestine, 2 (1.7%) from the stomach and 1 (0.6%) from the testis. Infection rates of anchovies with anisakids by localities were 5.1% at Taebyon, 8.0% at Sokcho and 9.2% at Chungmu. The larval anisakids in anchovies may infect humans who often eat raw anchovies.

A study was presented on the anisakid larvae in Astroconger myriaster which were caught at the Southern Sea and saled at Pusan area. The nematodes were morphologically classified into Anisakis sp. and Contracaecum sp. after fixation in 70% ethanol and clearing in lactophenol. Total of 1,768 larval anisakids were collected from 259 (67.8% positive rate) out of 382 examined A. myriaster. Total 642 larvae of Anisakis sp. were obtained from 94 (24.6%) and 1,126 Contracaecum sp. were recovered from 165 (43.1%) fish. The average number of worms per infected fish was 4.6. The infection rate increased according to the length of fish, and all of the fish over 71 cm were found infected. The numbers (proportions) of recovered worms by the organs were 1,440 (80.5%) in the omentum, 166 (9.4%) in the intestine, 107 (6.0%) in the stomach, 32 (1.8%) in the skin, 18 (1.0%) in the muscle, 13 (0.7%) in the liver, and 2 (0.1%) in the head. The larvae in the muscle may infect the humans who are enjoying raw sliced meat of the fish.