Suchergebnisse

National institutions/organisations participating in EARS-Net - Portugal: National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (Caniça, M., Fernandes, P.A., Manageiro, V.) ; The results presented in this report are based on antimicrobial resistance data from invasive isolates reported to EARS-Net by 30 European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries in 2017 (data referring to 2016), and on trend analyses of data reported by the participating countries for the period 2013 to 2016. As in previous years, the antimicrobial resistance situation in Europe displays wide variations depending on the bacterial species, antimicrobial group and geographical region. For several bacterial species–antimicrobial group combinations, a north-to-south and a west-to-east gradient is evident in Europe. In general, lower resistance percentages were reported by countries in the north while higher percentages were reported in the south and east of Europe. These differences are most likely related to variations in antimicrobial use, infection prevention and control practices, and dissimilarities in diagnostic and healthcare utilisation patterns in the countries. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

National institutions/organisations participating in EARS-Net: Portugal - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge: Manuela Caniça; Vera Manageiro ; Antimicrobial resistance data reported to EARS-Net by 28 countries in 2010 and trend analyses including EARSS data from previous years, show that the Europewide increase of antimicrobial resistance observed in Escherichia coli during recent years is continuing unimpeded. The highest resistance proportions in E. coli were reported for aminopenicillins ranging up to 83 %. Despite the already high level of resistance the increase continues even in countries presenting resistance well above 50 %. The percentage of third-generation cephalosporin resistance reported among E. coli isolates has increased significantly over the last four years in half of the reporting countries, while a decreasing trend was observed in only one country. This resistance is directly linked to the high proportions (65–100 %) of ESBL-positives among cephalosporin-resistant E. coli isolates reported in 2010. A high frequency of multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was observed in southern, central and eastern Europe. In half of the reporting countries, the proportion of multiresistant K. pneumoniae isolates (combined resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides) was above 10 % and five countries show an increasing trend of carbapenem resistant K. pneumoniae. Carbapenems have been widely used in many countries due to the increasing rate of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae with a consequent impact on the emergence of carbapenemase production (VIM, KPC and NDM-1). Other trends in the occurrence of resistance reported to EARS-Net bring hope that national efforts on infection control and efforts targeted at containment of resistance may in some cases bring the development of resistance to a halt, or even reverse undesirable resistance trends, as exemplified by the development for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Even though the proportion of MRSA among S. aureus is still above 25 % in eight out of 28 countries, the occurrence of MRSA is stabilising or decreasing in some countries and a sustained decrease has been observed in Austria, France, Ireland, Latvia, the UK and Cyprus. Furthermore, the United Kingdom has shown a consistent reduction of resistant proportions in K. pneumoniae for all antimicrobial classes under surveillance, and in a few countries (Germany, Greece, Italy and the UK) the efforts to control glycopeptide resistance in Enterococcus faecium seem to be successful and resulting in a continuous decrease of proportions of resistant isolates. Meanwhile, high-level aminoglycoside resistance in Enterococcus faecalis is stabilising in Europe at a level of 25–50%. For Streptococcus pneumoniae, non-susceptibility to penicillin remains generally stable in Europe and non-susceptibility to macrolides has declined in five countries while an increasing trend was observed in only one country. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, high proportions of resistance to fluoroquinolones, carbapenems and combined resistance have been reported by many countries, especially in southern and eastern Europe. For several antimicrobial and pathogen combinations, e.g. fluoroquinolone resistance in E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and for MRSA, a north to south gradient is evident in Europe. In general, lower resistance proportions are reported in the north and higher proportions in the south of Europe. This is likely to be a reflection of differences in infection control practices, presence or absence of legislation regarding prescription of antimicrobial drugs. However, for K. pneumoniae, increasing trends of resistance to specific antimicrobial classes and of multiresistance have also been observed in northern European countries, like Denmark and Norway, which traditionally have a prudent approach to antimicrobial use. In addition to the regular trend analysis and situation overview, this 2010 EARS-Net report contains a focus chapter providing in-depth analysis for carbapenem resistant K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa. Results from susceptibility testing to carbapenems for these two pathogens reported since 2005, reveal a significant decrease of susceptibility to carbapenems in invasive K. pneumoniae over the period 2005–2010. Carbapenems are some of the few effective antimicrobials for the treatment of infections caused by bacteria that produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases and thus resistance to carbapenems leaves very few therapeutic options available. Based on EARS-Net data, the antimicrobial resistance situation in Europe displays large variation depending on pathogen type, antimicrobial substance and geographical region. Besides evidence of stabilisation of the situation for some pathogens (e.g. MRSA) in a number of countries, the data show the unimpeded decline of antimicrobial susceptibility in other major pathogens (e.g. E. coli) and the alarming emergence of carbapenem resistance in K. pneumonia, leading to an unfortunate loss of antimicrobial treatment options.

"Questions of company governance have been examined over the years, but this has generally been in areas concerning shareholders. Meanwhile the management team and board of directors remain comparatively unexplored. This book has been written to provide a way into this relatively unknown world of executive committees"--

Cultural intelligence is one of the most widely researched topics in international business literature. However, to date, only cross-national differences have been examined. This research examines the unexplored relationship between top management teams' (TMT) regional diversity and emerging market firms' internationalization. Employing the cultural intelligence theory, we introduce a significant dimension of TMT diversity—regional diversity. Based on a sample of 542 firms, our results indicate that diversity in the regional family background of TMT and their work experience are positively associated with the internationalization of these firms. Furthermore, this relationship is positively moderated by the international experience of the TMT. Our findings offer several managerial and academic implications.

Empirical research investigating the impact of top management team (TMT) diversity on executives' decision making has produced inconclusive results. To synthesize and aggregate the results on the diversity-performance link, a meta-regression analysis (MRA) is conducted. It integrates more than 200 estimates from 53 empirical studies investigating TMT diversity and its impact on the quality of executives' decision making as reflected in corporate performance. The analysis contributes to the literature by theoretically discussing and empirically examining the effects of TMT diversity on corporate performance. Our results do not show a link between TMT diversity and performance but provide evidence for publication bias. Thus, the findings raise doubts on the impact of TMT diversity on performance.