An Analysis of the Financial Liquidity Management Strategy in Construction Companies Operating in the Podkarpackie Province

The activity of each construction company in conditions of high competitiveness is exposed to a number of risks that make it difficult to maintain high financial liquidity. In order to provide the continuity of ongoing economic processes and to be able to develop, entities are forced to build optimal financial management strategies for them. Enterprises can choose between a conservative, moderate and aggressive strategy, which is largely determined by the way they manage their current assets and short-term liabilities. In the case of construction companies, it is also not without significance that they are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in the economic situation and changes in the macroeconomic environment, which imply the availability of funds. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the financial liquidity management strategy of construction sector Polish enterprises from the Podkarpackie Province in 2017–2019 and the impact of this strategy on the profitability of the surveyed entities. In order to achieve the goal, the issues related to the classification of financial liquidity and individual liquidity management strategies are discussed. The issues and the goal set determined the choice of research methods. Literature studies, the Mann–Whitney U test, cluster analysis and Ward’s method were used. The research was carried out on a group of the 10 largest construction companies from the Podkarpackie Province. The selection of entities for the research was deliberately based on enterprises that submit their financial statements to the National Court Register. The conducted research showed that small and large enterprises applied different liquidity management policies even though they operate in the same industry and region. The small entities preferred a conservative strategy, while large entities preferred a moderate strategy. The existence of an inverse relationship between the phenomenon of financial liquidity and profitability of economic entities was also confirmed.

Local device infection successfully treated without pacemaker removal in a neonate: a case report

Aims: Local device infection is a serious complication, especially in neonates. Complete device removal is the gold standard treatment for cardiac device infection; however, in selected cases alternative strategies could be adopted. We describe a case of a 14-day-old neonate, weighing 2.5kg, who had undergone epicardial double chamber pacemaker implantation for a congenital complete atrioventricular block. The generator pocket was created in the epigastric area below the rectus abdominis. At six days after implantation, pocket infection was found; blood cultures and the transoesophageal echocardiogram were normal. Due to the low weight of the neonate, and the limited possibility of finding a new comfortable site for housing the generator far from the infected area, we opted for a conservative strategy. We successfully applied a combination of antibiotic therapy, a vacuum-assisted wound closure system (KCI, Germany) for 40 days, and then skin transfer flap from the right flank without device removal. At one-year follow-up there were no local or systemic signs of infection.

The genetic basis of the root economics spectrum in a perennial grass

Construction economics of plant roots exhibit predictable relationships with root growth, death, and nutrient uptake strategies. Plant taxa with inexpensively constructed roots tend to more precisely explore nutrient hotspots than do those with costly constructed roots but at the price of more frequent tissue turnover. This trade-off underlies an acquisitive to conservative continuum in resource investment, described as the “root economics spectrum (RES).” Yet the adaptive role and genetic basis of RES remain largely unclear. Different ecotypes of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) display root features exemplifying the RES, with costly constructed roots in southern lowland and inexpensively constructed roots in northern upland ecotypes. We used an outbred genetic mapping population derived from lowland and upland switchgrass ecotypes to examine the genetic architecture of the RES. We found that absorptive roots (distal first and second orders) were often “deciduous” in winter. The percentage of overwintering absorptive roots was decreased by northern upland alleles compared with southern lowland alleles, suggesting a locally-adapted conservative strategy in warmer and acquisitive strategy in colder regions. Relative turnover of absorptive roots was genetically negatively correlated with their biomass investment per unit root length, suggesting that the key trade-off in framing RES is genetically facilitated. We also detected strong genetic correlations among root morphology, root productivity, and shoot size. Overall, our results reveal the genetic architecture of multiple traits that likely impacts the evolution of RES and plant aboveground–belowground organization. In practice, we provide genetic evidence that increasing switchgrass yield for bioenergy does not directly conflict with enhancing its root-derived carbon sequestration.

Treatment of Cervical Pregnancy with Ultrasound-Guided Intragestational Injection of Methotrexate: A Case Report

This study is aimed at describing a noninvasive conservative strategy to the treatment of cervical pregnancy and highlighting the success of ultrasound-guided therapeutic techniques. A 43-year-old woman with a history of one previous cesarean section presented in our unit with vaginal spotting and a positive urine pregnancy test. She was diagnosed with a cervical pregnancy, and she was successfully treated conservatively with the administration of intragestational sac methotrexate under ultrasound guidance. Cervical pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy that results from conceptus implantation in the cervical canal. The main concern is the associated life-threatening hemorrhage and subsequent need for urgent hysterectomy. The evolution of ultrasound over the past decades has enabled early diagnosis and has shifted the management from a radical surgical approach towards a stepwise conservative therapeutic approach, when possible.

A Case Report on Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection Managed by Percutaeneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is frequently underdiagnosed and often considered as a rare cause of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Although it predominantly affects young women in the peripartum period, it can also occur in men. Most of the reported dissections have occurred in the left anterior descending coronary artery. The optimal treatment modalities are yet to be defined. Case Summary: A 50- year-old man who presented to us at National Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases (NICVD), Dhaka with an acute Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction secondary to a spontaneous dissection of the Left anterior descending coronary artery. Due to ongoing chest pain, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was done with drug eluting stent (DES) successfully, and the patient was discharged from the hospital on medical therapy. Conclusion: All clinicians should remain vigilant and aware of this condition, as patient outcomes and treatment guidelines differ substantially from conventional atherosclerotic ACS. Although initial conservative strategy is preferred strategy in SCAD management but timely intervention is warranted in selected cases. Bangladesh Heart Journal 2021; 36(2): 151-157

Ventricular septal intramyocardial dissection after cardiac fibrosarcoma excision

Intramyocardial dissection following cardiac tumor excision is uncommon. The evidence available is limited to few case reports. Herein,we report an infant with large cardiac fibrosarcoma arising from the interventricular septum and underwent surgical excision.One month after surgery echocardiography revealed a cystic dissection located in the interventricular septum with residual shunts within the ventricular chambers. we performed conservative strategy due to the high surgical risk, difficulty of interventional therapy and hemodynamic stability.

Into the range: a latitudinal gradient or a center-margins differentiation of ecological strategies in Arabidopsis thaliana?

Background and Aims: Determining within-species large-scale variation in phenotypic traits is central to elucidate the drivers of species ranges. Intraspecific comparisons offer the opportunity to understand how trade-offs and biogeographical history constrain adaptation to contrasted environmental conditions. Here we test whether functional traits, ecological strategies and phenotypic plasticity in response to abiotic stress vary along a latitudinal or a center- margins gradient within the native range of Arabidopsis thaliana. Methods: The phenotypic outcomes of plant adaptation at the center and margins of its geographic range were experimentally examined in 30 accessions from southern, central and northern Europe. The variation of traits related to stress tolerance, resource use, colonization ability as well as survival and fecundity was determined in response to high temperature (34C) or frost (- 6C), in combination with response to water deficit. Key Results: Both evidence for a latitudinal and a center-margins differentiation was found. Traits related to the acquisitive/conservative strategy trade-off varied along a latitudinal gradient. Northern accessions presented a greater survival to stress than central and southern accessions. Traits related to a colonization-competition trade-off followed a center-margin differentiation. Central accessions presented a higher phenotypic plasticity and trait values associated with a higher colonization ability than northern and southern accessions which instead had a higher competition ability. Conclusions: Intraspecific phenotypic variation helps us understand how the distribution range has evolved in Arabidopsis thaliana, which is shaped both by climate and the population migratory history. We advocate to consider intraspecific trait variation in species range studies instead of species means only as classically done in macroecology.

Management and outcome of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes in the elderly admitted to spoke hospitals with no cath-lab facility

Background Current guidelines recommend an early invasive strategy in patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes (NSTE-ACS). However, the role of an invasive strategy in elderly patients remains controversial and may be difficult to achieve in spoke hospitals with no cath-lab facility. Purpose We aimed to analyze characteristics and outcomes of patients ≥80 years with NSTE-ACS admitted to spoke hospitals. Methods Observational retrospective study of all consecutive NSTE-ACS patients admitted to two spoke hospitals, where a service strategy (same-day transfer between spoke hospital and hub center with a cath-lab facility to perform coronary angiography) was available. Results From 2013 to 2017, 639 patients were admitted for NSTE-ACS in a spoke hospital of our provincial cardiology network; of these, 181 (28%) were ≥80 years (median 84, IQR 82–89). In the elderly conservative strategy was chosen in 76 patients (42%). When the invasive strategy was chosen, 104 patients (93%) were managed with a Service strategy with no major adverse event observed during the back transfer from the invasive center to the referring spoke center, whereas the rest of the patients (8, 7%) were transferred from the spoke hospital to the hub center and completed their hospital stay without returning to the spoke center. Of patients initially managed with the service strategy, a shift of strategy after the invasive procedure was necessary for 11 (10%) and the patients remained in the hub center. The median time to access to cath-lab was 50 hours (IQR 25–87), with 73 patients (70%) reaching the invasive procedure <72 h from the hospital admission and 23 (22%) <24 h. Conservative strategy was associated with older age, known previous CAD, clinical presentation with symptoms of LV dysfunction, lower EF, renal failure, higher GRACE score, presence of PAD, and atrial fibrillation (all p<0.03; Table). At 1-year follow-up, the overall survival was significantly higher in patients treated with invasive strategy compared to patients managed conservatively (94%±2 vs. 54%±6, p<0.001; HR: 10.4 [4.7–27.5] p<0.001; Figure), even after adjustment for age, serum creatinine, known previous CAD and EF (adjusted HR: 2.0 [1.0–4.0]; p<0.001). Conclusion An invasive strategy may confer a survival benefits in the elderly with NSTE-ACS. When the invasive strategy is chosen, the same-day transfer between spoke hospital and hub center with the cath-lab facility (service strategy) is safe and granted the access to cath-lab in a timely fashion even in the elderly. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None. Table 1 Figure 1