Saving Plants and Jobs: Union-Management Negotiations in the Context of Threatened Plant Closing

Gerhart uses a case study approach to examine why plants become economically inviable as well as how to prevent this from happening prematurely.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1118/thumbnail.jp

The Economics of Plant Closure

Gerhart uses a case study approach to examine why plants become economically inviable as well as how to prevent this from happening prematurely.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1118/thumbnail.jp

Visualizing the Needle in the Haystack: In Situ Hybridization With Fluorescent Dendrimers

In situ hybridization with 3DNA™ dendrimers is a novel tool for detecting low levels of mRNA in tissue sections and whole embryos. Fluorescently labeled dendrimers were used to identify cells that express mRNA for the skeletal muscle transcription factor MyoD in the early chick embryo. A small population of MyoD mRNA positive cells was found in the epiblast prior to the initiation of gastrulation, two days earlier than previously detected using enzymatic or radiolabeled probes for mRNA. When isolated from the epiblast and placed in culture, the MyoD mRNA positive cells were able to differentiate into skeletal muscle cells. These results demonstrate that DNA dendrimers are sensitive and precise tools for identifying low levels of mRNA in single cells and tissues

Profound influence of different methods for determination of the ankle brachial index on the prevalence estimate of peripheral arterial disease

BACKGROUND: The ankle brachial index (ABI) is an efficient tool for objectively documenting the presence of lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, different methods exist for ABI calculation, which might result in varying PAD prevalence estimates. To address this question, we compared five different methods of ABI calculation using Doppler ultrasound in 6,880 consecutive, unselected primary care patients ≥65 years in the observational getABI study. METHODS: In all calculations, the average systolic pressure of the right and left brachial artery was used as the denominator (however, in case of discrepancies of ≥10 mmHg, the higher reading was used). As nominators, the following pressures were used: the highest arterial ankle pressure of each leg (method #1), the lowest pressure (#2), only the systolic pressure of the tibial posterior artery (#3), only the systolic pressure of the tibial anterior artery (#4), and the systolic pressure of the tibial posterior artery after exercise (#5). An ABI < 0.9 was regarded as evidence of PAD. RESULTS: The estimated prevalence of PAD was lowest using method #1 (18.0%) and highest using method #2 (34.5%), while the differences in methods #3–#5 were less pronounced. Method #1 resulted in the most accurate estimation of PAD prevalence in the general population. Using the different approaches, the odds ratio for the association of PAD and cardiovascular (CV) events varied between 1.7 and 2.2. CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate that different methods for ABI determination clearly affect the estimation of PAD prevalence, but not substantially the strength of the associations between PAD and CV events. Nonetheless, to achieve improved comparability among different studies, one mode of calculation should be universally applied, preferentially method #1

Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring efficacy of perindopril/indapamide first-line combination in hypertensive patients: the REASON study

Background: Circadian blood pressure (BP) measurements provide more information on hypertensive complications than office BP measurements. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of the first-line combination of perindopril 2 mg plus indapamide 0.625 mg versus atenolol 50 mg on BP parameters and variability over 24 h in patients with hypertension. Methods: A double-blind, randomized, controlled, 12-month study comparing perindopril/indapamide and atenolol was performed in 201 patients (age 55.0 years) with uncomplicated sustained essential hypertension. Ambulatory BP measurements (ABPM) were done every 15 min over 24 h. Results: After 1 year of treatment, the decrease in systolic BP was significantly greater for perindopril/indapamide than for atenolol during the entire 24-h period (-13.8 ν −9.2 mm Hg), the daytime and the nighttime periods (P < .01). Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) variations were comparable for the two groups (−7.2 ν −8.3 mm Hg, NS). Pulse pressure (PP) reduction was also significantly greater for perindopril/indapamide than for atenolol (for the whole 24 h, −6.6 ν −0.9 mm Hg, P < .001). The through to peak (T/P) BP ratio and the smoothness index were comparable in the two groups for DBP. For systolic blood pressure (SBP), higher values of the T/P ratio (0.80 ν 0.59) and the smoothness index (1.45 ν 0.98; P < .02) were achieved for the perindopril/indapamide combination than for atenolol. Conclusions: The perindopril/indapamide first-line combination decreased SBP and PP more effectively than atenolol. Moreover, the BP control effect was smooth and consistent throughout the 24-h dosing interval and BP reduction variability was lower than the one induced by atenolo

Regression of left ventricular mass in hypertensive patients treated with perindopril/indapamide as a first-line combination: The REASON echocardiography study

Background: Increase in left ventricular mass (LVM) may be linked to morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. Arterial stiffness, systolic blood pressure (BP), and pulse pressure (PP) seem to be the main determinants of LVM. The perindopril/indapamide combination normalizes systolic BP, PP, and arterial function to a greater extent than atenolol. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of perindopril (2 mg)/indapamide (0.625 mg) first-line combination with atenolol (50 mg) on LVM reduction in hypertensive patients. Methods: Two hundred fourteen patients with essential hypertension participating in the PREterax in Regression of Arterial Stiffness in a ContrOlled Double-BliNd (REASON), randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, underwent M-mode two-dimensional-guided echocardiography. Results: Perindopril/indapamide and atenolol were both effective at brachial BP reduction during the 12-month period. The systolic BP reduction was significantly greater with perindopril/indapamide than with atenolol (−21.2 v −15.3 mm Hg), whereas the reduction in diastolic BP was similar between treatment groups (−12.1 v −11.3 mm Hg). Reduction in LVM was higher with perindopril/indapamide than with atenolol. The between-group difference was significant for LVM (−13.6 v −4.3 g, P = .027), LVM/body surface area (LVMI1, P = .032), and LVM/body height2.7 (LVMI2, P = .013). The 124 patients with LV hypertrophy at baseline showed greatest LVM regression (LVM: −22.5 v −8.9 g, P = .009; LVMI1, P = .031; LVMI2, P = .028). The reduction in LVM adjusted for brachial systolic BP and heart rate was still significantly greater with perindopril/indapamide than with atenolol. Conclusions: Treatment, based on a first-line perindopril/indapamide combination in hypertensive patients, was more effective than atenolol on regression of echocardiographic indices of LVM and LV hypertroph

Human Resources and the Resource Based View of the Firm

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has influenced the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of the RBV on the theoretical and empirical development of SHRM. It explores how the fields of strategy and SHRM are beginning to converge around a number of issues, and proposes a number of implications of this convergence