Public Infrastructure, Private Input Demand, and Economic Performance of the Greek Industry

In this paper we examine the effects of the services provided by public infrastructure on the cost structure, private input demands, and productivity performance of twenty two-digit Greek manufacturing industries. The model of the paper is the dual cost function. Although the effects of public infrastructure varies across different industries our results provide evidence in favour of a productive public infrastructure. In addition, public infrastructure is found to be complement to private capital stock and substitute to labour. Specifically, the cost-saving impact of public infrastructure ranges from 0.02 percent in food manufacturing industry to 0.78 percent in wood and cork. Moreover, empirical evidence is provided in favour of the argument that the productivity growth of the majority of the twenty Greek manufacturing industries has been depressed by the observed shortage in public infrastructure in the eighties.Dual cost function, Productivity growth, Infrastructure

Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography: Beyond Traditional Uses

Anthracyclines are among the most widely used and effective antineoplastic agents. A growing number of patients treated with anthracyclines may have the potential for substantial morbidity and mortality owing to anthracycline cardiotoxicity. Patients younger than 75 years and without heart failure or pulmonary disease are more likely to receive chemotherapy. The main manifestations of acute cardiotoxicity are cardiac rhythm disturbances and the pericarditis/myocarditis syndrome, while early (several days to months following therapy) and late (years to decades after treatment) cardiotoxicity is mainly characterized by deterioration of myocardial function. Subclinical cardiomyopathy is quite more prevalent than symptomatic heart failure. Various predisposing factors have been proposed, such as total dose of anthracyclines > 550mg/m2, high rate of administration, previous chest irradiation, young or advanced age, female sex, and coexistent heart disease and/or arterial hypertension. The early detection of cardiotoxicity may lead to the modification of chemotherapeutic regimen, and to the timely administration of medications for the treatment of cardiomyopathy, such as beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors. Echocardiography during low dose dobutamine infusion (10 mg/kg/min) has the potential to reveal abnormalities of myocardial contractile reserve, while Doppler echocardiography of the mitral valve inflow during diastole has been used for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function. This study examines whether the combination of repetitive dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) with evaluation of Doppler mitral inflow pattern can be used to predict the development of anthracycline cardiomyopathy