On the real effects of financial pressure: Evidence from euro area firm-level employment during the recent financial crisis.

Using a large panel of unquoted euro-area firms over the period 2003-11, this paper examines the impact of financial pressure on firms’ employment. The analysis finds evidence that financial pressure negatively affects firms’ employment decisions. This effect is stronger during the 2007-2009 financial crisis, especially for firms in the periphery area compared to their counterparts in the core European economies. We also find that impact of financial pressure on employment is more potent for firms classified as financially constrained and operating in periphery economies during the financial crisis.

Product differentiation, competitive pressure and the effects of innovation on the success and survivability of firms in oligopoly markets

In a recent paper Tishler and Milstein (2009) fi…nd that increased competition may increase aggregate R&D spending while market output decreases. Therefore, they obtain the surprising result that R&D spending is excessive when competition becomes intense. Their result is based on the standard linear demand function for differentiated products introduced by Bowley (1924) where decreased product differentiation is interpreted as more competitive pressure. In this paper I show that at an aggregate level this interpretation is problematic because equilibrium effects are dominated by a demand reduction effect. A slight modifi…cation of the standard demand function eliminates this effect. For the Tishler and Milstein (2009) setting it is shown that then increased competition increases both R&D spending and aggregate market output. Therefore, at least for consumers, more intense competition increases welfare. Journal of Economic Literature Classi…fication Numbers: D43, L1, O3. Keywords: Oligopoly markets, Product differentiation, Competitive pressure.

Assessing heterogeneity of effects on blood pressure in a meta-analysis of pharmacist interventions trials

Background: Recent reviews of randomized control trials have shown that pharmacist interventions improve cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors in outpatients. Various interventions were evaluated in different settings, and a substantial heterogeneity was observed in the effect estimates. To better express uncertainties in the effect estimates, prediction intervals (PI) have been proposed but are, however, rarely reported. Objective: Pooling data from two systematic reviews, we estimated the effect of pharmacist interventions on systolic blood pressure (BP), computed PI, and evaluated potential causes of heterogeneity. Methods: Data were pooled from systematic reviews assessing the effect of pharmacist interventions on CVD risk factors in patients with or without diabetes, respectively. Effects were estimated using random effect models. Results: Systolic BP was the outcome in 31 trials including 12 373 patients. Pharmacist interventions included patient educational interventions, patient-reminder systems, measurement of BP, medication management and feedback to physician, or educational intervention to health care professionals. Pharmacist interventions were associated with a large reduction in systolic BP (-7.5 mmHg; 95% CI: -9.0 to -5.9). There was a substantial heterogeneity (I2: 66%). The 95% PI ranged from -13.9 to -1.0 mmHg. The effect tended to be larger if the intervention was conducted in a community pharmacy and if the pharmacist intervened at least monthly. Conclusion: On average, the effect of pharmacist interventions on BP was substantial. However, the wide PI suggests that the effect differed between interventions, with some having modest effects and others very large effects on BP. Part of the heterogeneity could be due to differences in the setting and in the frequency of the interventions.

Effects of long-term averaging of quantitative blood pressure traits on the detection of genetic associations.

Blood pressure (BP) is a heritable, quantitative trait with intraindividual variability and susceptibility to measurement error. Genetic studies of BP generally use single-visit measurements and thus cannot remove variability occurring over months or years. We leveraged the idea that averaging BP measured across time would improve phenotypic accuracy and thereby increase statistical power to detect genetic associations. We studied systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), and pulse pressure (PP) averaged over multiple years in 46,629 individuals of European ancestry. We identified 39 trait-variant associations across 19 independent loci (p < 5 × 10(-8)); five associations (in four loci) uniquely identified by our LTA analyses included those of SBP and MAP at 2p23 (rs1275988, near KCNK3), DBP at 2q11.2 (rs7599598, in FER1L5), and PP at 6p21 (rs10948071, near CRIP3) and 7p13 (rs2949837, near IGFBP3). Replication analyses conducted in cohorts with single-visit BP data showed positive replication of associations and a nominal association (p < 0.05). We estimated a 20% gain in statistical power with long-term average (LTA) as compared to single-visit BP association studies. Using LTA analysis, we identified genetic loci influencing BP. LTA might be one way of increasing the power of genetic associations for continuous traits in extant samples for other phenotypes that are measured serially over time.

Effects of vapour pressure deficit and soil water content on leaf water potential between selected provenances of Eucalyptus microtheca in an irrigated plantation, eastern Kenya

Summary

Effects of neuropeptide Y on the blood pressure response to various vasoconstrictor agents.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is known to potentiate the pressor effect of norepinephrine. In the present work, we evaluated in unanesthetized normotensive rats the effect of NPY on blood pressure responsiveness not only to norepinephrine, but also to tyramine, a sympathomimetic agent acting indirectly to B-HT933, a selective alpha-2 adrenoceptor stimulant, to angiotensin II and vasopressin. Dose-response curves to the various pressor agents were established starting at the 45th min of an i.v. infusion with either NPY (0.025 and 0.1 microgram/min) or its vehicle. The two doses of NPY increased blood pressure by an average of approximately 6 mm Hg, which was not significantly different from the vehicle-induced blood pressure changes. NPY significantly enhanced the pressor effect of norepinephrine, tyramine and angiotensin II, but not that of B-HT933 and vasopressin. We also tested whether NPY inhibits the enzyme activity of Na, K-adenosine triphosphatase using a purified toad kidney preparation. Concentrations of NPY from 10(-14) M up to 10(-6) M had no effect on the enzyme activity. It appears therefore that the blood pressure potentiating effect of NPY is not restricted to alpha adrenoceptor stimulation with norepinephrine, but involves also the vasoconstrictor hormone angiotensin II. This NPY-induced potentiation does not seem to depend upon stimulation of alpha-2 adrenoceptors or inhibition of Na,K-adenosine triphosphatase.

Effects on blood pressure and cardiovascular risk of variations in patients' adherence to prescribed antihypertensive drugs: role of duration of drug action.

P>Aim: To determine the effects of imperfect adherence (i.e. occasionally missing prescribed doses), and the influence of rate of loss of antihypertensive effect during treatment interruption, on the predicted clinical effectiveness of antihypertensive drugs in reducing mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.Method:The effects of imperfect adherence to antihypertensive treatment regimens were estimated using published patterns of missed doses, and taking into account the rate of loss of antihypertensive effect when doses are missed (loss of BP reduction in mmHg/day; the off-rate), which varies between drugs. Outcome measures were the predicted mean SBP reduction and CVD risk, determined from the Framingham Risk Equation for CVD.Results:In patients taking 75% of prescribed doses (typical of clinical practice), only long-acting drugs with an off-rate of similar to 1 mmHg/day were predicted to maintain almost the full mean SBP-lowering effect throughout the modelled period. In such patients, using shorter-acting drugs (e.g. an off-rate of similar to 5-6 mmHg/day) was predicted to lead to a clinically relevant loss of mean SBP reduction of > 2 mmHg. This change also influenced the predicted CVD risk reduction; in patients with a baseline 10-year CVD risk of 27.0% and who were taking 75% of prescribed doses, a difference in off-rate from 1 to 5 mmHg/day led to a predicted 0.5% absolute increase in 10-year CVD risk.Conclusions:In patients who occasionally miss doses of antihypertensives, modest differences in the rate of loss of antihypertensive effect following treatment interruption may have a clinically relevant impact on SBP reduction and CVD risk. While clinicians must make every effort to counsel and encourage each of their patients to adhere to their prescribed medication, it may also be prudent to prescribe drugs with a low off-rate to mitigate the potential consequences of missing doses.

Use of a dynamic foot pressure index to monitor the effects of treatment for equinus gait in children with cerebral palsy.

The purpose of this study is to introduce and describe a newly developed index using foot pressure analysis to quantify the degree of equinus gait in children with cerebral palsy before and after injection with botulinum toxin. Data were captured preinjection and 12 weeks postinjection. Ten children aged 2(1/2) to 6(1/2) years took part (5 boys and 5 girls). Three of them had a diagnosis of spastic diplegia and 7 of congenital hemiplegia. In total, 13 limbs were analyzed. After orientation and segmentation of raw pedobarographic data, we determined a dynamic foot pressure index graded 0 to 100 that quantified the relative degree of heel and forefoot contact during stance. These data were correlated (Pearson correlation) with clinical measurements of dorsiflexion at the ankle (on a slow and fast stretch) and video observation (using the Observational Gait Scale). Pedobarograph data were strongly correlated with both the Observational Gait Scale scores (R = 0.79, P < 0.005) and clinical measurements of dorsiflexion on a fast stretch, which is reflective of spasticity (R = 0.70, P < 0.005). We demonstrated the index's sensitivity in detecting changes in spasticity and good correlation with video observations seems to indicate this technique's potential validity. When manipulated and segmented appropriately, and with the development of a simple ordinal index, we found that foot pressure data provided a useful tool in tracking changes in patients with spastic equinus.

Effects of forwarder tyre pressure on rut formation and soil compaction

Abstract

Différences induites par la définition des périodes diurnes et nocturnes sur la pression artérielle et le dipping lors d'une mesure ambulatoire de la pression artérielle [Effects of nighttime and daytime interval definition on blood pressure and dipping in patients referred for ambulatory blood pressure measurement].

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) has become indispensable for the diagnosis and control of hypertension. However, no consensus exists on how daytime and nighttime periods should be defined. OBJECTIVE: To compare daytime and nighttime blood pressure (BP) defined by an actigraph and by body position with BP resulting from arbitrary daytime and nighttime periods. PATIENTS AND METHOD: ABPM, sleeping periods and body position were recorded simultaneously using an actigraph (SenseWear Armband(®)) in patients referred for ABPM. BP results obtained with the actigraph (sleep and position) were compared to the results obtained with fixed daytime (7a.m.-10p.m.) and nighttime (10p.m.-7a.m.) periods. RESULTS: Data from 103 participants were available. More than half of them were taking antihypertensive drugs. Nocturnal BP was lower (systolic BP: 2.08±4.50mmHg; diastolic BP: 1.84±2.99mmHg, P<0.05) and dipping was more marked (systolic BP: 1.54±3.76%; diastolic BP: 2.27±3.48%, P<0.05) when nighttime was defined with the actigraph. Standing BP was higher (systolic BP 1.07±2.81mmHg; diastolic BP: 1.34±2.50mmHg) than daytime BP defined by a fixed period. CONCLUSION: Diurnal BP, nocturnal BP and dipping are influenced by the definition of daytime and nighttime periods. Studies evaluating the prognostic value of each method are needed to clarify which definition should be used.

Effects of polymorphisms in beta1-adrenoceptor and alpha-subunit of G protein on heart rate and blood pressure during exercise test. The finnish cardiovascular study.

J Appl Physiol vol 100, no 2, pp 507-511, 2006

Effects of nasal continuous airway pressure on pulmonary and systemic output in preterm infants

Objective: Respiratory assistance with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (n-CPAP) is an effective treatment in premature newborns presenting respiratory distress. The aim of the study was to depict cardiac function, systemic (Qs) and pulmonary output (Qp) by echocardiography in stable premature infants requiring prolonged n-CPAP. Our hypothesis was that n-CPAP could reduce pulmonary blood flow. Patients and methods: All premature infants < 32 weeks gestation, > 7 days-old, requiring n-CPAP without severe respiratory compromise nor need for additional oxygen were prospectively included. Every patient had a first echocardiography while on n-CPAP. N-CPAP was then discontinued for two hours and a second echocardiography was performed. Results: 17 premature infants were included. Mean gestational age was 28 ± 2 weeks and mean weight 1.1 ± 0.3 kg. Following retrieval of n-CPAP we observed an increase in Qp of 53 ml/kg/min (95% CI 19-87 ml/kg/min), but no significant change in Qs. Consecutively a significant increase in Qp/Qs ratio of 16% was found (95% CI 7-29%). Conclusions: Nasal continuous positive airway pressure has hemodynamic effects in preterm infants in stable pulmonary and cardiac conditions. It reduces pulmonary output without interference with systemic output.