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Working capital management (WCM) concerns decisions on the levels and turnover of the inventories, receivables, cash and current liabilities of a company. Consequently, WCM affects the profitability of an enterprise. This paper aims to determine the relationship between profitability and WCM, characterised by components of the company’s operating cycle. The research is based on meta-analysis and meta-regression methods that allow for the combination and analysis of the outcomes of individual empirical studies using statistical methods. Our final research sample consists of 43 scientific papers from 2003 to 2018. These studies covered almost 62,000 enterprises in 35 countries from 1992 to 2017. Our results indicate that there is a common, negative relationship between profitability and the cash conversion cycle (CCC). This relationship is conspicuous in various countries and in different economic contexts. A negative, statistically significant relationship was also detected between profitability and average collection period (ACP), the accounts payable period (APP) and inventory turnover cycle (ITC) as well. We also identified moderators of the diagnosed dependencies on the grounds of macroeconomic and institutional factors. The richer the economy, the weaker a negative impact of CCC on profitability. The higher the protection of creditors and debtors, the weaker the negative relationship between profitability and ITC. The opposite is applicable to inflation and ACP and APP, unemployment and CCC, ACP and APP, the availability of credit and APP and the degree of capital market development and CCC and ACP. The aforementioned macroeconomic and institutional factors cause the negative relationship between particular components of the operating cycle and profitability to deepen even further. Our research contributes to the existing knowledge by confirming that the negative relationship between profitability and all components of the operating cycle is dominant in the global economy. It also indicates that there are macroeconomic and institutional moderators of the strength and direction of these relationships.

The main aim of the paper is to determine the relationship between profitability and financial liquidity of a company using meta-analysis. This method is based on a synthesis of many previous studies with the application of econometric tools. The results of the study show that, taking into account 16 economies, it is not possible to identify a common effect describing the relationship between the profitability of enterprises and their financial liquidity measured by the current liquidity ratio. The results of individual empirical studies that underlie the meta-analysis are diverse. This means that there are moderators of the strength and direction of this dependence associated with macroeconomic and institutional conditions. We attempted to separate them by means of meta-regression. This method involves the use of a regression model, where data are derived from both meta-analysis and external sources. We diagnosed two statistically significant moderators of the strength and direction of the relationship between profitability and liquidity. These are two factors: (i) private sector crediting and (ii) capital market development. Our paper contributes to the development of the existing knowledge by summarizing and binding previous individual empirical studies on the relationship between profitability and liquidity of enterprises and identifying factors affecting this relationship. This knowledge can assist financial managers in making more efficient decisions related to liquidity and working capital management.

Synaptic plasticity is a process that shapes neuronal connections during neurodevelopment and learning and memory. Autophagy is a mechanism that allows the cell to degrade its unnecessary or dysfunctional components. Autophagosomes appear at dendritic spines in response to plasticity-inducing stimuli. Autophagy defects contribute to altered dendritic spine development, autistic-like behavior in mice, and neurological disease. While several studies have explored the involvement of autophagy in synaptic plasticity, the initial steps of the emergence of autophagosomes at the postsynapse remain unknown. Here we demonstrate a postsynaptic association of autophagy-related protein 9A (Atg9A), known to be involved in the early stages of autophagosome formation, with Rab11, a small GTPase that regulates endosomal trafficking. Rab11 activity was necessary to maintain Atg9A-positive structures at dendritic spines. Inhibition of mTOR increased Rab11 and Atg9A interaction and increased the emergence of LC3 positive vesicles, an autophagosome membrane-associated protein marker, in dendritic spines when coupled to NMDA receptor stimulation. Dendritic spines with newly formed LC3+ vesicles were more resistant to NMDA-induced morphologic change. Rab11 DN overexpression suppressed appearance of LC3+ vesicles. Collectively, these results suggest that initiation of autophagy in dendritic spines depends on neuronal activity and Rab11a-dependent Atg9A interaction that is regulated by mTOR activity.Movie S1Movie S1Fragment of a dendrite of a 21 DIV hippocampal neuron transfected with plasmids encoding GFP‐Rab11a (green) and RFP (magenta) over 1 min. Arrows point to examples of spines where mobile vesicles are present.Movie S2Movie S2GFP‐Rab11a channel of the same neuron as in Movie 1. Arrows point to examples of spines where mobile vesicles are present.Movie S3Movie S3Fragment of a dendrite of a neuron transfected with plasmids encoding GFP‐Rab11a (green) and Scarlet‐I‐Atg9A (magenta) over 100 sec. Arrows point to Atg9A co‐occurring in the same spines as Rab11.Movie S4Movie S4Atg9A channel of the same movie as in Movie 3. Arrows point to Atg9A co‐occurring in the same spines as Rab11.Movie S5Movie S5Rab11 channel of the same movie as in Movie 3. Arrows point to Rab11 co‐occurring in the same spines as Atg9A.Movie S6Movie S6Fragment of a dendrite of a hippocampal neuron transfected with plasmid encoding EGFP‐LC3 (green) and Scarlet‐I (magenta) upon INK128+NMDA treatment over 44 min. Arrow points to the emerging EGFP‐LC3‐positive vesicle. EGFP‐LC3 channel is shown in fire LUT.Movie S7Movie S7Fragment of the same dendrite as in Movie 6, both channels.Movie S8Movie S8Fragment of a dendrite of a hippocampal neuron transfected with plasmid encoding EGFP‐LC3 (green) and Scarlet‐I (magenta) upon INK128+NMDA treatment over 44 min. White arrow points to the emerging EGFP‐LC3‐positive vesicle. Yellow arrow points to LC3+ vesicle exiting the dendritic spine. EGFP‐LC3 channel is shown.Movie S9Movie S9Fragment of the same dendrite as in Movie 6, Scarlet‐I channel. Except for moving in the medium, neither dendritic spine indicated with the arrow changes shape.Movie S10Movie S10Fragment of the same dendrite as in Movie 6, both channels.

Mitochondrial dysfunctions affect cytosolic protein translation, which can result in the restoration of protein homeostasis and/or allow cells to survive. We discovered that the impact on cytosolic pathways that regulate protein synthesis depends on both the duration and the severity of mitochondrial stress.

AbstractThe enterprise capital structure is influenced by internal factors, i.e., the share of fixed assets in total assets, the size and growth of the enterprise, its liquidity and profitability, and the non-debt tax shield. The literature shows that external factors – macroeconomic and institutional specifics of enterprises’ environment – may shape the strength and direction of these dependencies. The main aim of this article is to identify the relationship between external factors and the impact of internal determinants on the capital structure. The study includes the meta-analysis of papers which provide information on the relationship between internal factors and the capital structure for 35 countries. The study includes the papers published after 2000 whose research covered the period 1993–2017. A statistically significant relationship between four external factors (inflation, G.D.P. growth rate, G.D.P., index of protection of the creditors and debtors rights) and the strength and direction of the impact of internal factors on the capital structure has been found. In addition, the unambiguously negative impact of two internal factors (liquidity and profitability of the enterprise) on indebtedness was diagnosed. It also reveals that the pecking order theory constitutes a strong theoretical basis for research into the capital structure of enterprises.

Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is not reimbursed by the Polish public health system. We present a description of 5 years of experience with MT in acute stroke in Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSCs) in Poland.

We present a case of a 30-year-old Polish female who presented with increasing for about 2 years spastic paraparesis and urinary incontinence. She denied any risky sexual behaviors, drug abuse, there was no history of surgery or blood transfusions. MRI of the brain showed diffuse, hyperintensive in T2, poorly defined lesions in the white matter. About 3 months later paraparesis increased and control MRI showed progression of previously described lesions. She was then diagnosed with HIV infection. There was a suspicion of progressive multifocal leucoencephalopathy (PML) or vacuolar myelopathy in the course of HIV infection. Antiretroviral treatment was initiated leading, together with rehabilitation, to a progressive improvement of symptoms. Pathological lesions on brain MRI completely disappeared. In conclusion, HIV test should be done in every patient with neurological signs of unknown cause.

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) has been applied to study if the microstructure changes in Co80Zr10V10 and Co65Zr10V25 metallic glasses after heat treatment. Samples in as-quenched state were isothermally annealed at chosen temperatures in the temperature range 100C - 580C for 1 hour. In spite of differences of chemical composition and magnetic properties the obtained dependencies of positron lifetime on annealing temperature do not differ significantly for lower temperatures. The higher increase of positron lifetime for Co65Zr10V25 than that for Co80Zr10V10 indicates differences in crystallization in the two metallic glasses studied.

A new TDPAC spectrometer which is based on the principle of event by event data acquisition (list mode) in order to reduce a background, avoid systematic errors and increase efficiency of the setup is described. The principal demand on the new spectrometer is the simultaneous measurement of all events containing the time and energy signals of the four detectors appearing in a preset common time window. For this purpose an 8-parameter list mode data acquisition system has been developed.

Understanding of biological function of AP-1 transcription factor in central nervous system may greatly benefit from identifying its target genes. In this study, we present several lines of evidence implying AP-1 in regulating expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (timp-1) gene in rodent hippocampus in response to increased neuronal excitation. Such a notion is supported by the findings that timp-1mRNA accumulation occurs in the rat hippocampus after either kainate- or pentylenetetrazole-evoked seizures with a delayed, in comparison with AP-1 components, time course, as well as with spatial overlap with c-Fos protein (major inducible AP-1 component) expression. Furthermore, AP-1 sequence derived from timp-1promoter is specifically bound by hippocampal AP-1 proteins after treating the rats with either pro-convulsive agent. Finally, timp-1promoter responds to excitatory activation both in vivo, in transgenic mice harboring the timp-LacZgene construct, and in vitroin neurons of the hippocampal dentate gyrus cultures. These findings suggest that the AP-1 transcription factor may exert its role in the brain through affecting extracellular matrix remodeling.

Various drugs of abuse activate intracellular pathways in the brain reward system. These pathways regulate the expression of genes that are essential to the development of addiction. To reveal genes common and distinct for different classes of drugs of abuse, we compared the effects of nicotine, ethanol, cocaine, morphine, heroin and methamphetamine on gene expression profiles in the mouse striatum.