The Limits of Lending:Banks and Technology Adoption Across Russia

We exploit historical and contemporaneous variation in local credit markets across Russia to identify the impact of credit constraints on firm-level innovation. We find that access to bank credit helps firms to adopt existing products and production processes that are new to them. They introduce these technologies either with the help of suppliers and clients or by acquiring external know-how. We find no evidence that bank credit also stimulates firm innovation through in-house R&D. This suggests that banks can facilitate the discussion of technologies within developing countries but that their role in pushing the technological frontier is limited

Effect of pathologic fractures on survival in multiple myeloma patients: a case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a B cell neoplasm characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells. Skeletal complications are found in up to 80% of myeloma patients at presentation and are major cause of morbidity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>49 patients were enrolled with MM admitted to Black Sea Technical University Hospital between 2002–2005. Pathologic fractures (PFs) were determined and the patients with or without PF were followed up minumum 3 years for survival analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>PF was observed in 24 patients (49%) and not observed in 25 patients (51%). The risk of death was increased in the patients with PF compared with patients who had no fractures. While overall survival was 17.6 months in the patients with PFs, it was 57.3 months in the patients with no PFs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest that PFs may induce reduced survival and increased mortality in the MM patients, however, larger sample size is essential to draw clearer conclusions added to these data.</p

Further investigation of confirmed urinary tract infection (UTI) in children under five years: a systematic review.

Background: Further investigation of confirmed UTI in children aims to prevent renal scarring and future complications. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to determine the most effective approach to the further investigation of confirmed urinary tract infection (UTI) in children under five years of age. Results: 73 studies were included. Many studies had methodological limitations or were poorly reported. Effectiveness of further investigations: One study found that routine imaging did not lead to a reduction in recurrent UTIs or renal scarring. Diagnostic accuracy: The studies do not support the use of less invasive tests such as ultrasound as an alternative to renal scintigraphy, either to rule out infection of the upper urinary tract (LR- = 0.57, 95%CI: 0.47, 0.68) and thus to exclude patients from further investigation or to detect renal scarring (LR+ = 3.5, 95% CI: 2.5, 4.8). None of the tests investigated can accurately predict the development of renal scarring. The available evidence supports the consideration of contrast-enhanced ultrasound techniques for detecting vesico-ureteric reflux (VUR), as an alternative to micturating cystourethrography (MCUG) (LR+ = 14.1, 95% CI: 9.5, 20.8; LR- = 0.20, 95%CI: 0.13, 0.29); these techniques have the advantage of not requiring exposure to ionising radiation. Conclusion: There is no evidence to support the clinical effectiveness of routine investigation of children with confirmed UTI. Primary research on the effectiveness, in terms of improved patient outcome, of testing at all stages in the investigation of confirmed urinary tract infection is urgently required

How does study quality affect the results of a diagnostic meta-analysis?

Background: The use of systematic literature review to inform evidence based practice in diagnostics is rapidly expanding. Although the primary diagnostic literature is extensive, studies are often of low methodological quality or poorly reported. There has been no rigorously evaluated, evidence based tool to assess the methodological quality of diagnostic studies. The primary objective of this study was to determine the extent to which variations in the quality of primary studies impact the results of a diagnostic meta-analysis and whether this differs with diagnostic test type. A secondary objective was to contribute to the evaluation of QUADAS, an evidence-based tool for the assessment of quality in diagnostic accuracy studies. Methods: This study was conducted as part of large systematic review of tests used in the diagnosis and further investigation of urinary tract infection (UTI) in children. All studies included in this review were assessed using QUADAS, an evidence-based tool for the assessment of quality in systematic reviews of diagnostic accuracy studies. The impact of individual components of QUADAS on a summary measure of diagnostic accuracy was investigated using regression analysis. The review divided the diagnosis and further investigation of UTI into the following three clinical stages: diagnosis of UTI, localisation of infection, and further investigation of the UTI. Each stage used different types of diagnostic test, which were considered to involve different quality concerns. Results: Many of the studies included in our review were poorly reported. The proportion of QUADAS items fulfilled was similar for studies in different sections of the review. However, as might be expected, the individual items fulfilled differed between the three clinical stages. Regression analysis found that different items showed a strong association with test performance for the different tests evaluated. These differences were observed both within and between the three clinical stages assessed by the review. The results of regression analyses were also affected by whether or not a weighting (by sample size) was applied. Our analysis was severely limited by the completeness of reporting and the differences between the index tests evaluated and the reference standards used to confirm diagnoses in the primary studies. Few tests were evaluated by sufficient studies to allow meaningful use of meta-analytic pooling and investigation of heterogeneity. This meant that further analysis to investigate heterogeneity could only be undertaken using a subset of studies, and that the findings are open to various interpretations. Conclusion: Further work is needed to investigate the influence of methodological quality on the results of diagnostic meta-analyses. Large data sets of well-reported primary studies are needed to address this question. Without significant improvements in the completeness of reporting of primary studies, progress in this area will be limited

Revisiting Consumer Ethnocentrism: Review, Reconceptualization, and Empirical Testing

Prior research has suggested that many consumers prefer domestic to foreign products, even when the quality is lower and the price is higher. Such bias is attributed to consumer ethnocentrism. This study critically examines the current conceptualizations of consumer ethnocentrism and proposes an extension of its conceptual boundaries and measurement. It determines that consumer ethnocentrism is a multidimensional construct that encompasses five dimensions: prosociality, cognition, insecurity, reflexiveness, and habituation. Empirical evidence from the United Kingdom and the United States demonstrates that the extended measurement instrument better predicts consumers' preferences for local brands at the expense of foreign brands

COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey dataset on psychological and behavioural consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak

This N = 173,426 social science dataset was collected through the collaborative COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey – an open science effort to improve understanding of the human experiences of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic between 30th March and 30th May, 2020. The dataset allows a cross-cultural study of psychological and behavioural responses to the Coronavirus pandemic and associated government measures like cancellation of public functions and stay at home orders implemented in many countries. The dataset contains demographic background variables as well as measures of Asian Disease Problem, perceived stress (PSS-10), availability of social provisions (SPS-10), trust in various authorities, trust in governmental measures to contain the virus (OECD trust), personality traits (BFF-15), information behaviours, agreement with the level of government intervention, and compliance with preventive measures, along with a rich pool of exploratory variables and written experiences. A global consortium from 39 countries and regions worked together to build and translate a survey with variables of shared interests, and recruited participants in 47 languages and dialects. Raw plus cleaned data and dynamic visualizations are available

Fibrillary glomerulonephritis with small fibrils in a patient with the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome successfully treated with immunosuppressive therapy

10.1186/1471-2369-8-7BMC Nephrology8